Upset Thorndon Quay businesses petition council

Thursday, 1 August 2024

A petition seeking Thorndon Quay roadworks be paused has been presented to Wellington City Council, amid claims the works had caused “severe economic harm” to businesses.

Thorndon Quay, a major route into the central city from the north lined with businesses, is now a maze of road cones, road works, temporary fencing and walkways. Almost 2000 signatures were gathered.

The Thorndon Quay Hutt Road Collective presented its petition to the Environment and Infrastructure Committee today, seeking a halt to all roadworks until an independent review was complete.

Petition presenter Paul Robinson, who owns the Woolstore on Thorndon Quay, said “council decision making along the Thorndon Quay project has been going for quite a few years now, a lot of decisions have been made, and many of those decisions are not looking good.“

Those decisions corroded confidence in council, and affected all Wellington ratepayers.

He mounted a three-pronged attack on the road works: saying the replacement of water infrastructure should have been first priority, when the sewer pipes were 110 years old.

The Post had reported WCC had decided to spend $58m on installing bus lanes and cycle lanes along Thorndon Quay, but not replace the water infrastructure.

It was “extraordinary” WCC had done roading work above an ageing pipe that had failed 17 times in two years.

As well there had been 'substantial negative impact“ on the Thorndon Quay economy, and councillors had taken safety advice that was not independent and free of bias.

Cafe business along the route was down 40% the petition said. The road works have coincided with a decline in the national economy.

“It would be a very good start to accept there is severe economic harm happening down there. Officers did not tell you about it, they won’t acknowledge it.”

Each reason was sufficient to justify a “pause and review”, Robinson argued.

“I understand there’s going to be a willingness to defer this petition down the road to September. I don’t think you can afford to do that, you’ve got to decide to address the issue down there.”

Not only had the Court of Appeal found the council’s original decision to remove the angle car parking from the quay was “illegal”, confidence in council decision making was at perilously low levels, Robinson said.

“If councillors do not accept this petition, then they expose the council to further reputational risk,” he said.

Businesses on the street were facing extraordinary rates increases, when revenue was dramatically down, he said.

“Why, when you need to increase rates by 20%+ year on year, would you decimate business’s ability to pay their fair share?”

It was thought by Robinson to be the second largest petition to be presented to the council.

Transport and Infrastructure manager Brad Singh said he could provide councillors with the levels of disruption, should the project be paused.

Wellington Water was in charge of the management of water assets and “they’ve determined on our behalf that none of the assets on Thorndon Quay need to be replaced in the next 10 years”, Singh told councillors.

The project was “just shy” of being halfway completed.

“If we were to try and pause it, that would cause more delay,” he said.

It would increase the cost of the project, and current traffic management in place “wouldn’t necessarily be able to be removed in order, if we were to stop construction now”.

Public seating in the meeting was solidly occupied, with occasional scoffing, bursts of laughter, and matching audible expressions emerging from it.

Outside the committee room, Robinson expressed frustration with the focus of councillors.

'The issue around the pipes is being very thoroughly investigated by councillors. That's satisfactory. The issue around impacts on businesses down there is being completely ignored,' he told The Post.

'We know that business owners down there are laying off staff. So the impacts are very, very profound.'

Robinson said he didn't feel he'd been listened to. 'Not on the business impacts No.'