The new suburban centre dis­trict plan, based on the coun­cil’s ‘centres policy’, is raising some concerns. We’re hearing murmurings from the property council, retailers’ association and the chamber of commerce. It’s a complex issue and one Wellingtonians need to under­stand.

What is the centres policy?

The council decided there was a need to protect certain areas from competition, primarily the CBD’s Golden Mile. This is reverting to a time before the 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA), when the Town and Country Planning Act pre­scribed exact activities for dif­ferent sites.

Thinking back to the Wel­lington of the 1980s, before the RMA, there were no vibrant residential living apartments in the central city and Courtenay Place was partially industrial­ised. The RMA (despite its nu­merous faults) enabled flexible uses of areas that had not been seen before. Urban designers have since learned the best use for commercial centres is mixed use, allowing activities of dif­ferent natures to co-exist. This flexibility is now being eroded.

Protect the CBD – good theory, bad practice

I understand some people be­lieve the council’s intention to protect the Golden Mile is sen­sible. But there is nothing to be gained from protectionism. Ul­timately, it can have the reverse effect; without competition from large and diverse shopping cen­tres, over time the standards of the CBD will drop. Protection creates Ladas. In the Soviet Un­ion, Ladas had little competition and the result was possibly the worst car in the world.

The centres policy restricts business by splitting the city into a retail hierarchy with sev­en levels. For example, a new business in Karori will have to prove it won’t take business from another business at a higher location on the hierar­chy in Kilbirnie, Johnsonville or the CBD. – How can a business prove that? It’s impossible.

This will be applied to every location in town and gaining consent will become a night­mare. A new Four Square in Seatoun, for example, will not be able to open if a dairy or su­permarket in another suburb objects to it.

If the centres policy prevails, retailers will be busy trying to stop opposition in order to com­pete, rather than improving cus­tomer services and satisfaction. Businesses will move in greater numbers to the northern cities as more people drive to shop in the Hutt and Porirua. Prices of goods will rise, employment will be lost and CBD retail will become unsustainable. In­dependent research already shows more than $300 million is lost annually as Wellingtonians choose to shop elsewhere.

Is WCC playing by the rules?

When the council decided to implement these anti-competi­tive measures, they were afraid some landowners would place development proposals before the changes were implemented. Two bizarre plan changes were initiated to freeze any such pro­posals.

Plan change 52, issued in October 2007, froze activity in certain suburban centre loca­tions. Despite strong opposi­tion, the plan was approved by councillors and an appeal to the Environment Court has been stalled.

Plan change 66 was issued practically overnight in July 2008, after the council heard Johnsonville Mall was propos­ing expansion. The change was issued without public consulta­tion or notice and the council didn’t even bother taking it to a hearing.

I’m a property investor. My Rongotai interests are seriously affected by the centres policy. I also have significant interests in the Golden Mile, which the council is bending the rules to protect. I love Wellington and I want the city to remain vibrant, but I believe the centres policy is the start of a regime that will see Wellington’s retail spaces and ratings fall.

Eyal Aharoni is Managing Director of PrimeProperty Group, and a supporter of Rongotai Revived. www.rongotairevived.co.nz