Editorial: Council must oppose Park application

Hastings District Council has little option but to oppose the application by Charter Hall to develop smaller retail spaces at The Park Mega Centre on Karamu Rd.

Having struggled to find tenants for the 1000 square metre sites it has permission to develop, Charter Hall now wants the okay for shop spaces between 500 and 670 square metres.

The district council has referred Charter Hall's resource consent application directly to the Environment Court, bypassing its own hearings committee.

Charter Hall's original consent for 1000 square metre sites was granted for a good reason - to corral big box retail at the fringes of the CBD in order that smaller shops would occupy the Heretaunga St precincts.

You have to have some sympathy for Charter Hall's predicament. The company gambled on attracting bigger retailers to The Park but is finding that tough going as the retail sector continues to be battered by the chill winds of an economic downturn. The major chains are not in expansion mode.

But that does not mean that Charter Hall should get a mandate to set up a rival destination to the city's CBD and in the process further gut Heretaunga St of retail activity.

Shoppers need to be encouraged into the CBD, not discouraged, as would occur if a significant number of smaller retailers were clustered around the new Mitre 10 Mega and Warehouse Extra. There is ample space within the CBD to accommodate new retailers.

It's a critical issue for Hastings - the city cannot allow the CBD to deteriorate. Money has been pumped into Heretaunga St but it requires more nurturing through vigilant stewardship on the part of the council.

There are some big guns ranged against Charter Hall's attempt to escape the current restriction on shop sizes, among them the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Hastings City Business Association and "private citizens" Wayne Bradshaw and Sandra Hazelhurst, who also both happen to be district councillors.

Mr Bradshaw and Mrs Hazelhurst have made their opposition clear but the council is yet to declare its hand. Surely to protect the integrity of its own district plan, Hastings District Council must oppose the Charter Hall application at the Environment Court.