‘Absolute eyesore’: Potholes, puddles and slow decline of Christchurch businesses

Thursday, 12 June 2025

Businesses and shoppers on a Christchurch street face a daily impact of a car park that has become both an eyesore and a hazard.

An ex-business owner said the car park remained neglected for years because it’s a private land owned by multiple landowners.

One councillor said there had been positive discussions around improving the worst-affected sections of the car park.

A “eyesore” car park marred by potholes and puddles is quietly turning visitors away from a Christchurch shopping area, retailers say.

On a wet morning, shops along Hawke’s St near New Brighton beach paint a bleak picture.

Graffiti scars the walls of the blocks on one side and a large parking lot is filled with murky puddles on the other.

Nicky Griffin, who closed down her business in the area in 2023, said the car park remained neglected for years.

“It is absolutely terrible. There have been a lot of injuries. People have fallen over. It has been like that for years. The situation has gone from bad to worse.”

The shopping area was pretty happening at one point of time, she said.

“It's a great local market in local village where people who knew each other would come and shop.”

“It has gone from bad to worse in probably the last six months. It gets really bad in winter with wet weather.”

Griffin said the problem was that the car park belonged to different land owners.

“Because it's private land there's nothing that council can do. The responsibility entirely lies with the owners of each building.”

A business owner, who did not wish to be named, said the poor state of the car park was driving customers away.

“The car park is in such bad condition that people don’t want to shop here. Some of the other car parks further down are slightly better but to get here people still have to walk through puddles and no one wants to do that.”

He said one customer stopped coming to his shop after her car got stuck in a pothole.

“We never saw her again. That’s how we’re losing customers every day.”

New Brighton Residents' Association spokesperson Brian Donovan said it’s an absolute eyesore and extremely dangerous.

“It's extremely dangerous for everyone especially older people because the extent of some of the potholes is really outrageous.”

“There’s a market every Saturday where people walk through the lane into the wall area. We also have Matariki night market. It makes it more dangerous because you can’t see those potholes at night.”

He said an elderly woman fell over in one of the potholes sometime ago.

“She used to travel through the car park to go to some of the shops. She was on a walking frame. She no longer uses the area like many other people.”

Councillor Celeste Donovan, who has been working closely with ChristchurchNZ and some landowners, said there had been positive discussions around improving the worst-affected sections of the car park.

“Some sections are in a pretty rough state - with potholes, puddles, and uneven surfaces that are particularly unsafe for people with mobility issues and also cause problems for nearby businesses.

“One of the key challenges is that the entire car park is privately owned and split across dozens of landowners.

“This limits what the council can require under current legislation and makes coordination more complex.”

“Getting traction on this is a process, but it’s progressing alongside wider planning work in the mall area, including efforts to upgrade existing buildings and redevelop vacant sites.

“It’s encouraging to see some landowners now engaging in discussions to improve the worst-affected areas. Hopefully this will encourage others to also do their part.

“Delivering a clear, coordinated plan to upgrade this car park remains a top priority for me, alongside the wider regeneration of the New Brighton mall.”

Christchurch City Council’s head of facilities and property Bruce Rendall said the council had maintained an interest in land located to the east of the site [shown in photos] to facilitate a potential extension of Oram Avenue.

“Despite ongoing efforts, the council has been unable to reach an agreement with the property owner and the land remains under private ownership.”