LETTERBOX suggested that if the WDC is serious about attracting people back into the city, it could start with two hours of free parking across the entire CBD during normal business hours, and unrestricted parking outside those hours.
We believe the solutions to reviving the CBD
are straightforward. The number of vacant shops shows that retail alone is no
longer viable. The obvious answer is to enable and encourage mixed-use
activities: business (small-footprint retail and predominantly hospitality),
offices, and residential apartment living. How that is achieved is the issue,
and the WDC has a critical role in enabling that outcome.
Whangārei is not the only city in the world
that has faced this problem. CBDs everywhere are shrinking because the nature
of retail has changed. Other cities have addressed the issue with varying
degrees of success.
The very first question the WDC councillors
on the Mayoral Taskforce for City Centre Revitalisation should have asked is:
“How have other cities successfully dealt with this issue?”
A five-minute chat with AI would have given
them an answer that would take them a long way towards a solution for
Whangārei. With a plan in place, they could then enlist the support of the
public and various community groups to make it happen.
Instead, Mayor Couper says, “This is not a
council project, it’s got to be a community project…it will be possible as the
community works together.” Instead of taking responsibility, the Mayoral
Taskforce has set up an array of six “workstreams” to identify issues and
engage with the public. They are:
• Social support and community services, led
by Rena Hona, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner.
• Health, mental health and addiction, led by
Jensen Webber, Mahitahi Hauora chief executive.
• Community safety, policing and regulatory,
led by Northland Police Area Commander Inspector Maria Nordstrom.
• Infrastructure, lighting and urban
environment, led by Deputy Mayor Scott McKenzie.
• Housing and inner-city living, led by Toa Faneva, Ministry of Housing and
Urban Development regional director.
• The business and hospitality sector, led by
Tim Robinson from NorthChamber and Julia Morrison from Hospitality NZ.
For decades, the WDC has failed to halt the
decline. Instead of passing the problem onto the “community,” Mayor Couper
should do what mayors are elected to do: lead. It is the WDC that must come up
with a solution and then inspire the community to support it. While these
“workstreams” talk, and talk, and talk, retailers continue to leave the CBD.
The one positive on the horizon is the
often-mentioned redevelopment of the Forum North site into a Knowledge,
Education, and Arts Hub. To date, proposals for the site have not progressed
beyond press releases and memorandums, but hope was renewed recently when
Northland MP Grant McCallum announced that $34 million has been earmarked for
the development, subject to a detailed business case being accepted.
Photo credit: NZ Herald. Whangārei's CBD 'is rotting away': shop owners, landlords, shoppers, 27/12/19.
Further information
Northern Advocate: Whangārei CBD taskforce moves to revive city centre as more shops close
Stuff: ‘Ghost town’: Why businesses are abandoning this city centre