Upgrade nearing completion

The Cameron St mall is in the middle of a substantial revamp. Photo / John Stone

The $2.67 million upgrade of Cameron St should be completed by mid-November, barring any major weather events.

Whangarei District Council project engineer Rachael Mannion said the next main stage of the project would be road shaping and stabilisation, followed by paving, in readiness for a November 16 completion.

The exotic bangalow palms that formerly bordered the street, above, would soon be replaced with native nikau.

Three local firms would be involved in erecting two 13-metre high canopies made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, the foundations for which were currently being installed by GHK Piling. Culham Engineering and Fabric Structure Systems would shape and construct the canopies in time for summer, Ms Mannion said.

Plans for the mall revamp have been considered for four years and been through three rounds of consultation.

The project is part of the plan to connect the CBD with the Town Basin, though its critics have said council is over-capitalising in the CBD.