Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has requested council staff review and provide advice on the future of 14 projects. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington City Council is walking a tightrope as it considers amending its Long Term Plan, with 14 projects and programmes on the chopping block.
Mayor Tory Whanau has requested officers review and provide advice on the future of the projects which include the Civic Square redevelopment and finishing the cycleway network.
Yasmin Bisa has owned Italian restaurant MariLuca Ristoro on Mulgrave Street in Thorndon for 13 years.
Around three weeks ago cycle lanes were installed outside her restaurant.
She blames them for slashing her revenue in half, because a lack of car parks means fewer customers.
"The accessibility of parking, especially [since] most of our clientele are elderly. When they get public transport like Uber or taxi, you know they have to cross on the other side of the road which is not really safe, especially at night time," Bisa said.
Whanau said in reviewing the projects she did not want to cut critical climate action.
She was also aiming to avoid increasing rates, to fix the city's water infrastructure and not cut social housing.
The Long Term Plan review comes after the council voted to stop the sale of its airport shares last month, leaving a giant hole in its budget.
Along with the cycleway project and the Civic Square redevelopment, Khandallah swimming pool's upgrade and the zoo's master plan were among those on the chopping block.
Councillor Diane Calvert supported funding for the Khandallah swimming pool.
She said scrapping it would barely make a dent.
"You know we're probably talking about having to save several hundred million dollars, jumping straight to a $3.4 million dollar saving is not going to turn the dial. And if you look at the mayor's projects that she wants to cut, most of them don't even make the majors list," Cr Calvert said.
Councillor Calvert wanted more focus on scaling back bigger projects such as the Golden Mile development, rather than focusing on smaller ones.
"The Golden Mile is going to cost for our share, roughly around about $70 million and that's dealing with an area that involves Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place. We all know Courtenay Place needs some money , we don't need to spend the money on Lambton Quay," Cr Calvert said.
Retail NZ, Hospitality NZ and the Bus and Coach Association have called for a hiatus on the Golden Mile project.
Ann-Marie Johnson from Retail NZ said it needed to be modified.
"We really want to see that considered as part of the council's deliberations to see if it could be redesigned or if there is a way to see that it can go ahead but save some money on it. So we think this is a really good opportunity for the council to think of those projections as well as the ones that the mayor has listed," Johnson said.
Another major project is the redevelopment of Civic Square, where more than $320m has been set aside for building remediation work.
The council has a statutory obligation to strengthen its earthquake-prone buildings in Civic Square.
But local businesses are suffering while the construction work continues on the town hall and Wellington Library.
The Civic Square redevelopment project comes on top of this building work, and Johnson said more businesses will shut their doors or relocate if the redevelopment is canned.
"If the Civic Square redevelopment doesn't happen, certainly businesses are going to have to consider their future and whether they stay in that area. Whether that means complete closure for some or if they can, I'm sure they'll try to find alternative premises where they can attract the customers they need to survive," Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the council is waiting for the announcement on who will fill the role of Crown observer which Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said this week would be completed "shortly".
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