Brighter Future: New Brighton Mall At The Crossroads

In part one of the 'Eye On New Brighton' series, business owners & locals opine the impact of the mall redesign & whether the council & Christchurch NZ have done enough for the struggling mall.

For this series, The NZR interviewed Mark from Alice in Putterland, local Lyn who was pushing a pram, small business owner Teresa, Redo Renew, Dee from Seaside Vintage, landowner David McCracken of McCracken Sportswear and Goods, long-time resident Elsie George, and food truck owner Glen Manning. Thank you to you for taking part.

Listen to Dee from Seaside Vintage, who was very passionate about the new developments planned for New Brighton.

David McCracken of McCracken Sportswear and Goods is concerned that only a trickle of people are venturing away from the esplanade to his shop in the mall and questions whether the new development will change that.

New Brighton is on the cusp of a new dawn with building work already underway on a portion of its seaside mall. But based on appearances you wouldn’t know it.

The proposed site for the ‘village green’ (left) and the plan (source: Greater New Brighton)

In the once vibrant mall, The NZR counted 7 vacant lots. The largest of these sites with a food truck on site but is earmarked for the ‘village green’ development. The second largest site houses a Ray White outlet and a carpark. The remaining lots bear no signs of activity. To Ray White’s rear there is a large, pockmarked carpark bordered in part by Countdown.

New Brighton Mall. The bottom pictures feature the ‘Pierside’ construction site.

More noticeable are the ten or so empty shops. Totaling ten, seven to 8 of them form part of the Harris family’s planned mall development. Surfside Mall is more than half full.

Aside from the strums wafting from a small group of musos sitting outside a cafe, New Brighton mall was quiet. What it was not lacking in was soul.