Council cost us $2m, say retailers

Richard Jarvis from Ferner Galleries said the council should not have granted consent for such a big project on a non-notified basis. Picture / Greg Bowker

A group of Auckland City retailers say bungling by the city council turned their prime shopping street into a nightmare of fumes, noise and traffic jams which drove customers away.

More than $2 million in losses is claimed by the group, who say their once-healthy businesses dried up when building work began on the neighbouring 33-level Precinct apartment tower in Lorne St.

Jason Black, from Winos wine and tapas bar, said turnover dropped almost overnight from June 2004, and he counted the cost at $250,000.

"Lunch diners would leave due to the noise of concrete trucks ... black smoke pouring inside."

Mr Black said the business was forced to close and he had to sell his family home to repay business debts.

Others to close were outlets of Artigiano gallery, Gamma Print and Anzac Framing.

Complaints of lost business are also being made by Dymocks Booksellers, which has access from Lorne St, Compendium Gallery, Ferner Galleries and Jason Books.

Retailers say the council made $250,000 from renting out public road space to the site.

They want the council to compensate it for their financial hardship in the two years when carparks and a footpath were taken over for the site and the narrow street reduced to one-lane traffic or closed.

But the council said yesterday that it could not be held responsible for inconvenience from construction.

The frustrated retailers held a media conference to outline their complaint in a bid to embarrass the council into acknowledging their claim.

Richard Jarvis, of Ferner Galleries, said the council was grossly remiss in granting a consent to build such a massive project on a non-notified basis.

Mr Jarvis said this meant the neighbours were denied the opportunity to look at ways to minimise the impact of construction on their businesses.

The gallery had been in Lorne St for 15 years and since work on the apartments began in June 2004 the gallery had lost $1.5 million in sales and more than $720,000 gross profit.

The company had to put off two staff at Lorne St and close its Wellington gallery.

An attempt to reduce expenses by sub-letting some of the gallery space to Anzac Framing ended after two months. Some days, only one customer came in.

Gallery exhibiting artist Dave Goodwin said lack of exposure to passersby caused sales of his paintings to fall from 35 a year to eight.

Across the road at Compendium, Pamela Elliott judged the gallery had lost $80,000-worth of business, especially from tourists.

She said noise, dust and dirt from the building site made people keep walking past the gallery, or walk out again.

The retailers also complained about the "designated cultural precinct" being marred by the site's tall cordon of hoardings topped with razor wire.

Developer Kitchener Group applied for consent in 2001 but in June 2004 sought to vary the plans and build slightly fewer units.

But because the tower could loom over Albert Park, council senior planner V. J. Lala recommended independent commissioners be appointed to consider the proposal.

In July 2004, the commissioners decided that a public hearing of the resource consent application was unnecessary because the applicant accepted the recommended conditions and adverse effects would be minor.

A traffic plan approved by the council said all loading and unloading of vehicles and gear was to take place within site boundaries and there would be no on-street queueing or waiting by trucks.

Council general manager transport Stephen Rainbow said the consent conditions helped to minimise disruption and retailers should direct their concerns to the developer.

But Dr Rainbow said that the council had twice issued infringement notices on the site for breach of working hours and in both cases a fine of $300 was issued.

Three further infringement notices were issued for breach of compliance with the traffic management plan.

Building contractors Mainzeal Construction were aware that further breaches would bring an abatement notice.

Mainzeal area manager Roger Feast said: "A construction site in the middle of the city is not easy ... it doesn't help business of those places, we understand.

"But we've tried to work with them and have good relations."

Mr Feast said the tower crane would be removed at Labour Weekend and hoardings taken down, but the interior fit-out would continue until the end of the year.

Nearly all of the 194 units have been sold, for between $148,000 and more than $1 million for luxury penthouses overlooking Albert Park.