Napier store owner considers future amid mall car park privatisation

Napier business owner Glen Chan said there'll be significantly fewer customers browsing the mall as a result of the privatisation of Ocean Boulevard Mall car park. Photo / Supplied

A Napier business owner is to consider his future after the privatisation of Ocean Boulevard Mall car park.

The Napier shopping mall's upstairs car park, which holds about 120 car parks, no longer allows public access, with the introduction of swipe cards for private users.

Glen Chan, owner of Cool Toys, said there will be significantly fewer customers browsing the mall as a result of the change.

"It's not going to do a lot of good for us," he said. "It is a bit of a knock for the number of available spaces around town too.

"There is still a shortage of public car parks on the street as well, so overall, I definitely don't think it is good for the mall as a whole."

Glen Chan said he'll consider moving away from the Napier mall after the car park changes. Photo / Warren Buckland

A spokesman from the managers of the building, Vancor Group, said the privatisation of the car park was three-fold.

"The closure of the public car parks due to the costly repairs due to frequent vandalism, lack of support of existing car parking equipment and the tremendous need for private car parking from retailers and CBD businesses," he said.

"As there is a council operated public car park next to the mall, we decided to expand our private car parking facilities."

Chan, who has owned the toy store for over a decade, said the decision meant he had to consider moving away from the Napier mall.

"I have been in this mall for about 11 years and I have seen more people leave than come, in terms of tenants," he said.

"For us, I am not sure on our next step. We are almost the last toy shop left in Hawke's Bay, so we need to probably look at moving out.

"We need more room, so something has got to happen," Chan added.

A Napier City Council spokeswoman said those concerned about the lack of public parking should plan ahead.

"Council provides a range of parking options in the CBD to cater for different parking needs," she said.

"A map on our website shows the locations for all different parking options - from short-term stays, all day parking, free and lease parking.

"We encourage people who wish to bring the vehicle into the CBD to view the map and identify the parking option that best suits them."