Government vs Wellington council tensions laid bare in Golden Mile stoush
Wednesday, 8 May 2024
Tensions between the Beehive and its city council have been revealed in correspondence showing that three days after Wellington’s Mayor promised to engage with Golden Mile businesses, council lawyers said yeah-nah.
It now transpires that any engagement with businesses affected by the transformation of the busy Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place stretch is limited to minor tweaks and efforts to minimise disruption.
The overall design and cost are locked in but documents released under the Official Information Act show senior National MPs believed changes could and would be made and consultation would be meaningful.
The new National-led government axed the $7.4 billion Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) project soon after entering office though some projects remained. This included a $134m transformation of the Golden Mile, which the council took on itself, albeit with 51% government funding.
A press release on December 17 from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau and Greater Wellington Regional Council chairperson Daran Ponter announced the demise of LGWM.
“Wellington City Council will bring the Golden Mile project in-house and work to cost efficiencies, better bus routes, greater pedestrian access and closer engagement with local businesses,” that statement said.
But on December 20 lawyers for the council, Buddle Findlay, wrote to business advocacy group Guardians of the Golden Mile saying the council would not revisit decisions and “does not consider that it is required to consult further with businesses”. It would be proceeding with plans “in accordance with precious decisions”.
Brown and Bishop got hold of the Buddle Findlay letter and, on January 23, wrote to Whanau that they were “surprised” to read the council saying it would not consult as Whanau had “critically” agreed to increase engagement and consultation with local businesses and resident.
“Considering our agreement, we are now seeking an understanding of how the Buddle Findlay letter can be reconciled with our joint statement issued only three days earlier.”
They also asked for an update on the Golden Mile design and specifically how in-line bus stops would be removed.
“All participants in the [December 13] meeting acknowledged that the government does not endorse in-line bus stopping,” Brown and Bishop wrote. In-line bus stopping is when buses stop in the lane rather than pulling out of it.
They claimed Whanau had agreed to re-look at the in-line stops and aimed to “eliminate” them.
Whanau replied that there were already five in-line Golden Mile stops and an extra one would be added in the changes, because parts of the Golden Mile were narrow so “options are limited”.
Her office on Tuesday confirmed that, while the council would “continue to engage and talk with businesses”, there was no room for movement on the design or funding of the Golden Mile.
The engagement would focus on telling people what was happening rather than seeking feedback – except on ways to minimise disruption with some possible minor tweaks.
Retailer Nicola Cranfield, from Guardians of the Golden Mile, said she was shutting her business, off Lambton Quay, because “I was unwilling to sign a new lease with a personal guarantee because of the looming sustained disruption” from the Golden Mile.
“I have spent countless hours attending meetings being given the run around,” she said.
“Despite all our efforts, our voices fell on deaf ears, our concerns brushed aside in favour of an ideology-driven white elephant.”
Neither Brown nor Bishop responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.