New Brighton Vacant Sites On The Council Hit List - Revenue Gathering Or A Game Changer?

'Eye On New Brighton Mall': Part 2 - NZR asks whether council's proposed crackdown will spur owners of derelict & empty lots into action and talks to local business owners Glen and Dave.

Small business owner Glen Manning hopes the council’s proposal to charge landowners higher rates will spur owners into action “to help change New Brighton and bring it up”. But will it?

Listen to Glen.

In the Long-Term Plan, the Council has proposed to ping owners of vacant lots next to New Brighton’s mall, in the hope they will develop them.

The proposal is also part of the New Brighton Centre Master Plan that is meant to revitalise the once busy coastal attraction and draw in investors.

If implemented in the mall, the city vacant differential (CVD) rate will force owners of vacant land to pay 4 to 5 times more in rates.

Source: The Christchurch City Council

In the Long-Term Plan, the Council has proposed to ping owners of vacant lots next to New Brighton’s mall, in the hope they will develop them.

The proposal is also part of the New Brighton Centre Master Plan that is meant to revitalise the once busy coastal attraction and draw in investors.

If implemented in the mall, the city vacant differential (CVD) rate will force owners of vacant land to pay rate 4 to 5 times more in rates.

Source: The Christchurch City Council

The new rate will apply only to owners of vacant land in New Brighton’s downtown area.

In this article The NZR asks whether the CDV rate will encourage or discourage development and investment, and whether the higher rate should be extended to derelict buildings.

Land and business owner Dave McCracken was hopeful the redevelopment of New Brighton Mall will have an impact. But his optimism is blended with caution.

The New Brighton esplanade redevelopment didn’t create a flow on effect for the mall, in Dave’s view. People stayed on the esplanade and didn’t really venture into the mall.

Listen to Dave.

When asked about the CDV rate, Dave initially thought the proposal was harsh but later he liked the idea of charging owners of vacant lots more.

Dave is not alone. The proposal has drawn support from Health NZ and community boards and local advocates such as the Better for Brighton Group.

BBG’s Lin Klenner, supports its implementation “as a means to encourage development”.

“We’d also be supportive of any move to extend this to derelict buildings”.

The Greater New Brighton Community Leadership Group’s Neil Cooper and the New Brighton Project’s Martha Baxendell backed the idea in their Long-Term Plan submissions that mirror Klenner’s word-for-word.

“The vacanct differential is key to ensuring that New Brighton and other such areas see rapid improvement,” wrote Brodie Marra-Stevenson.

“as a Brighton local I'm so over the neglect the brings the area down”.

Emma Rodriguez Dos Santos was on the same page.

“This has been the single biggest concern for NB people on the local Facebook page, i.e. tidying up and removing blockages to long-awaited re-development of run-down areas.”

The South Island branch of the National Public Health Service (NPHS) favours the extension.

In its view, “Vacant sites and derelict buildings can look untidy and make people feel unsafe”.