Supermarket giant goes to court over Wellington cycleway

Wednesday, 6 September 2023

Foodstuffs has made good on its legal threat and will take the Wellington City Council to court over a planned cycleway.

Foodstuffs North Island — representing the North Island part of the co-operative which owns New World, Pak’nSave, Four Square, Liquorland and Gilmours — filed judicial review proceedings in the Wellington High Court on August 25.

The plans for a new cycleway in Thorndon cross over the entry and exit driveway into the local New World, and were not changed after Foodstuffs raised concerns with a council committee in April.

At those hearings Stephen Quinn, a lawyer representing Foodstuffs, told the committee its “only option” was a court case if the plans were not changed.

“Foodstuffs is not opposed to cycleways, in fact quite the opposite, but ultimately the thrust of the submission is that we’re seeking a safe and efficient supermarket operation.”

At the time Quinn said Foodstuffs saw “red flags” in the council’s process including “superficial” consultation and inadequate traffic analysis. The council had not specifically consulted Foodstuffs North Island, instead contacting the franchisee of the Thorndon New World, he said.

In the plans for Molesworth St, the cycleway runs along the right-hand side of the one-way street. Foodstuffs wanted the cycleway moved to the left-hand side of the street, away from its driveway.

But council staff said they had already considered the left-hand side and dismissed it, because it would require cyclists to cross in front of cars turning towards the motorway on-ramp.

Councillor Ben McNulty said it was “incredibly frustrating ratepayers will have to shoulder the costs of yet another judicial review when our officers have been engaging directly with Foodstuffs”.

After Foodstuffs raised its concerns in hearings, Mayor Tory Whanau moved an amendment for staff to consult further with Foodstuffs directly.

The cycleway team met with engineers from Foodstuffs in June, “so I have no doubt that the views of Foodstuffs have been heard in the process,” said McNulty.

Since construction would not begin until next year the litigation was unlikely to affect the timeline for the cycleway, McNulty said.

By contrast, last year a judicial review delayed construction of the Newtown cycleway for months but was ultimately settled out of court.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving projects on Thorndon Quay and Cobham Drive have also faced judicial reviews in recent years, though both were unsuccessful at finding fault with the projects.

The city council has faced a string of court cases over transport projects in recent years.

The plan for Thorndon is part of the 166km Paneke Pōneke bike network, which will eventually connect most Wellington suburbs to the inner-city. Parts of the network have already been constructed beside the Botanic Gardens and from Newtown to the waterfront.

Foodstuffs refused to comment while the matter was before the court.