Johnsonville ?village? no more?
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
This week is the last chance for local resident to have a say on the expansion of Johnsonville Mall, and four North Wellington residents associations are lobbying hard for its success. The four groups, from Johnsonville, Newlands-Paparangi, Churton Park and Grenada Village, say the current mall doesn?t cater for 45,000 residents, who have to travel outside the area for shopping. Spokesman for the groups, Tony Randle of the Johnsonville Progressive Association, says, ?It?s ironic, because people outside the area would like for Johnsonville to have a shopping centre, but only if it?s unsuccessful?. Mr Randle and his constituents gathered over 1,200 petition signatures to send to the council in conjunction with their submission supporting the malls expansion. ?Most people commented, ?Get on with it?, and we want to champion that process. ?Another overwhelming feature was concern with roads ? were drowning in traffic out here?, he says. The association say this time ?change 66? won?t stand in their way. Last year a Wellington City Council district plan change, and opposition from central city retailers, stalled the property group?s application by passing the controversial emergency Plan Change 66, which requires an impact report be drawn up for any shopping centre exceeding 20,000sqm. DNZ?s initial application asked for the mall to be expanded to 44,000sqm, with their latest proposal being downsized to 34,000sqm. ?Change66 is what we call it, and it didn?t go down so well with residents. ?The change restricts retail development in suburban areas, so they don?t compete with central city retail stores,? says Mr Randel. The revamp would create 350 jobs, have 100 shops on two levels, and cost more than $100 million. ?It?s being paid for by private development, not rates. ?It?s going to freshen up the place, and we want Johnsonville to become the centre of North Wellington,? he says. ? Design for the mall includes an emphasis on natural lighting, green spaces and making sure the site is accessible. Mr Randel says Westfield could oppose the proposal because of increased competition for shoppers. ?There is the story from the North Shore in Auckland where they held up development of a Pak-n-Save for 7 years. ?There is that risk, and we don?t want that to happen here.? ? ?
