Council weighs $3.8m plan to breathe new life into Cuba St

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

The Wellington City Council is considering how to best spend the $3.8 million it has set aside in its long-term plan to revitalise Cuba Street.

More than 800 participants responded to a survey on the public perception of Cuba St, with ideas on how to use the funding including pedestrianising the street, increasing street cleaning, hosting regular events, discouraging the proliferation of chain stores, and introducing outdoor seating.

Pedestrianising the entire Cuba Street - with wider footpaths and a ban on vehicles - is one option in the long-term plan. But with 63 earthquake-prone buildings, many vacant, several councillors asked how the plan could also help bring those properties back to life.

Council staff are investigating property acquisitions, with early conversations with key land owners under way.

Respondents described the street as vibrant, iconic, inclusive and diverse, but also aged, rundown, tired, grungy and outdated.

Deputy mayor Laurie Foon said the street needed a refresh, and while the funding did not allow for any large-scale improvements, any investment that encouraged new businesses and boosted the existing ones was something the council should do.

“Wellington’s got a challenge at the moment with our vibrancy, but this is exactly why council should be investing and refreshing our spaces.”

In the meeting, she said buildings were not being strengthened and were degrading, especially in the southern end of the street.

Foon said there were some building owners who appeared to be deliberately land-banking and letting buildings sit vacant, and said there was no interest or desire from some building owners to do the best with their buildings.

Foon is known for creating “Bypass my ass” protest t-shirts as a fashion designer in response to the council and the transport agency at the time building a bypass through Upper Cuba St more than 20 years ago.

She reflected on the vibrancy of the street when she was younger, saying it used to be a naturally bustling community filled with creatives, with people congregating in the historic, quirky spots of the street.

“What came out of today was that people love the street vibe, so how do we put that back into the place so that we've got a creative hub for the city?”

But some councillors, such as Nicola Young, were against the council allocating any money into the project, saying the council’s spending was “out of control”.

“My overriding concern is we have no money and so maybe some of these projects should be put on hold.”

But she did want updates on Left Bank, the Cuba St alleyway she described as “grotty and slightly threatening,” with talks of opening it up to connect to Victoria St.

Iona Pannett believed increasing funding for the Heritage Resilience and Regeneration Fund, a fund which assisted owners of heritage buildings to undertake earthquake strengthening work, was a solution for the vacant buildings on the street. She believed this work took priority over pedestrianisation.

Through the plan, she wanted to see the car park next to Floriditas made into a green space, saying the area was a “terrible waste of land”.

Pannett said it was important the plan did not sit on a shelf, and that priority was given to support local, independent businesses so it did not turn into “another Lambton Quay”.

Diane Calvert made similar remarks at the briefing, questioning staff about other plans made for neighbourhoods such as Adelaide Road and Johnsonville, which she said had not made much progress.

Mayor Tory Whanau said since early this year, officers had been engaging with businesses and the wider community to gather insights, understand their aspirations for the area, and identify both challenges and opportunities.

The insights gathered are being used to develop a Cuba Street Precinct Plan to guide future actions and investment in the area.

Officers aim to complete a draft plan by October and undertake public consultation the following month, but any significant decisions will have to be made by the next council.

Public feedback results

The survey found the top reason people visited the street was to spend their free time, with 85% of respondents were attracted to restaurants and cafes, while shopping, the general street vibe, bars and venues came after.

Respondents liked that many stores on Cuba Street are unique and independent, the vibrant hospitality scene, the eclectic, alternative vibe, the historic and iconic elements such as heritage buildings and the Bucket Fountain, and the street performers and public events.

People liked how the street was pedestrianised, but issues were also apparent, with crowded, footpaths with bottlenecks and difficulty navigating intersections and crossings the top responses.