City revamp gets nod from suburbs
With the Porirua City Council fully engaged with developers, current property owners and investors, momentum is building for the city centre?s $12.3 million redevelopment. Whitby Residents? Association chairperson Robin Gunston says the council should vigorously pursue private investment in the city centre. He says the timeframe for redevelopment should be extended because raising rates beyond the level of inflation is not acceptable. ?The council has to have growth and life in the city centre ... there?s got to be capital invested and we would prefer it was investor funded. ?It?s always a matter of balance, and in tough times the council needs to apply different ways of funding, like they are for festival building,? says Mr Gunston. He says locals won?t be drawn to the Johnsonville mall development as Porirua is easier to access. ?Saying our shopping will be transferred to Johnsonville it a bit extreme,? says Mr Gunston. Of the same opinion is Pukerua Bay Residents? Association chairperson Pat Hanley, who says locals also prefer travelling to Kapiti in the weekends to tie shopping in with ?weekend timeout?. He says the balance of council spending between the suburbs and city centre is good. ?The city centre needs constant attention and we are happy with the spending. ?It?s probably not practical [travelling to Johnsonville] because our train links with Porirua and many people shop using the train,? says Mr Hanley. Although outside the Porirua area, Tawa Community Board chairperson Robert Tredger says the redevelopments will affect Tawa. With Johnsonville Mall and Porirua set to change in stages, Mr Tredger is interested in which area develops faster. ?Johnsonville doesn?t have the range people want at the moment, and is also not the easiest to get to. ?Bus services to Johnsonville have improved, but Porirua is assessable by both bus and train,? says Mr Tredger. Tawa has Wellington?s largest portion of people aged over 60, so accessibility is a major factor in choosing a shopping destination.
