‘Not going to accept this nonsense’: Bar owner plans to defy order to remove parklet

Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Courtenay Place bar owner Greig Wilson is planning to defy the Wellington City Council after a surprise email gave him just days to remove a $30,000 parklet.

Parklets are a council initiative where car parks are converted to seating areas outside businesses, usually hospitality. They were seen as such a success the council in 2024 increased their number from 14 to 50.

Wilson has the bars Shady Lady and Vinyl Bar on Courtenay Place, with a parklet outside, and on Monday got an email from the council: There had been complaints about rubbish, a lack of use, crowd management and his permission for the parklet had expired in December.

The email came without any prior warning and gave him until Friday to remove it.

“We are not moving it. We are having a showdown,” he said.

“We are not going to accept this nonsense.”

Even if he was willing to move the parklet, which he had built for $30,000 a couple of years ago, finding a builder to take it down in a matter of days was unfeasible, he said.

Wilson said the parklet was cleaned daily and waterblasted monthly. Any rubbish would have been a consequence of a recent storm. He said he had always paid an annual token payment each year to have the parklet.

The lack of recent use was a direct result of Wellington being in the depth of winter, he said.

Wilson, who has had past battles with the council’s licensing team, said it appeared there had been a recent change in the team, making it more business-friendly. Until this week.

“It feels like we are being treated as the enemy. We should be treated like a customer,” he said.

Pukehīnau/Lambton ward councillor Geordie Rogers, a champion of parklets, said they needed to be kept to a certain standard “and that is the issue here”. The removal time frame could be “more measured”, he said.

The council was asked why the removal time frame was so short, if it had sent any warnings, if Wilson had any avenue to appeal and whether other parklet owners were getting the same treatment.

“Our public health team are in discussions with the licensee as we have had complaints about the operation of this parklet including that the owner is not adhering to the conditions that parklet owners agree to follow,” council spokesperson Richard MacLean said on Tuesday.

“The team has met with the owner today to discuss.

“We acknowledge that this discussion should have occurred earlier to see if these concerns could be remedied.”

Mayor Tory Whanau, who previously said parklets “create street spaces that are welcoming, safe, vibrant and where businesses can thrive”, would not comment.