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Strong feedback from the Christchurch community against the development of a public carpark building in Christchurch’s Performing Arts Precinct has resulted in councillors rejecting the proposal.

Instead, with a nearby parking development planned by the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and strong public opposition to the sale, Councillors voted to retain the land so that the Council can explore other uses for it in the future.

The Performing Arts Precinct is the city's outlet for creative performance, offering facilities for music, drama, dance and other performing arts with the precinct currently including the Isaac Theatre Royal and The Piano: Centre for Music and the Arts.

The Council is working in partnership with The Court Theatre to build the theatre’s new central city home in the precinct. The concept design for the new Court Theatre was released in November 2020. The completed three-storey theatre will house a 360-seat main playhouse auditorium, a 130-seat studio theatre and front-of-house facilities. Construction of the $36 million project is anticipated to start in March with an opening date for the new Court Theatre to be in late 2023.

Christchurch City Council advise that In November 2021, they signed a conditional agreement with Wilson Parking New Zealand to purchase the empty land at 137–141 Gloucester Street – at market value at the time negotiation started. The agreement also required that the building contain parking for bikes, scooters and electric vehicles.

Under the conditional agreement, Wilson Parking undertook to design, build, own and operate a 320–400 space public carpark building on the land, which is next to the Isaac Theatre Royal.

Part of the agreement with Wilson Parking states that the 2081 square metres of land must be used as a carpark for the next 30 years, and that the carpark building will be built at no cost to the Council.  It also required that the building could be adapted for alternative uses should the demand for car parking fall in the future.

The Council’s agreement with Wilson Parking is subject to public consultation over the associated sale of the land and the elected Council’s approval of that sale.

The proposal to sell the land was released for public comment from November–December 2021. The Council received 257 submissions, of which 38 supported the proposal.  The other 219 submissions were against the proposal.

The main theme of the submissions opposed to the proposal related to climate change, with references to the Council’s Climate Resilience Strategy and its declaration of a climate emergency.

• 37 submissions commented on climate change in general and that we are in a climate emergency.
• 61 submissions commented that we need to encourage other modes of transport into the city. These comments included; improving the bus service and connecting the cycle ways.
• 57 submissions didn’t want a car park in this location and the land should be used differently. Some suggestions were to keep it for performances, or retain as a grassed / open area.
• A number of other submissions were opposed to Wilson Parking owning and operating the car parking building.

Brent Smith, Head of Vertical Capital Delivery at Christchurch City Council advises “with the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch planning to develop public parking facilities at a nearby site, we have more options for how we put our own site to use.

“Our next step is to explore other possible opportunities for the land that will both support the performing arts in Christchurch, and contribute to the vitality of the area.”

The Crown transferred the Gloucester Street land to the Council in 2020 as part of the Global Settlement Agreement, with the expectation that a carpark building would be built there to help serve the Performing Arts Precinct.

Related Articles

10th March 2022 - Feedback considered before decision made on Christchurch’s proposed Performing Arts Precinct carpark

17th June 2014 - Music Centre to be first part of Christchurch Performing Arts Precinct

8th May 2014 - Christchurch performing Arts Precinct designation partially lifted

20th February 2021 - Show goes on at Christchurch’s Court Theatre

27th November 2020 - Concept designs unveiled for Christchurch’s The Court Theatre

10th July 2020 - Concept designs underway for new Court Theatre in Christchurch

2nd October 2019 - Christchurch Council advances plans for Court Theatre 

10th July 2017 - Christchurch’s Court Theatre recognised for opening its doors to diversity

6th December 2011 - Court Theatre opening a vital step in Christchurch’s recovery

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