It is not a question of whether as Tauranga City Council suggest the Mount Phoenix Carpark plan could be abandoned - it must never proceed. There is a dire shortage of night-ime and weekend parking in downtown central Mount Maunganui and that has been confirmed independently.

TCC has already rashly transferred all the Phoenix land from it's traffic section to reserves but it must not take the whole area just to access development moneys - yet council would not be undertaking this nonsense for any other reason.

A registered valuer has confirmed the going rate for CBD Mount land is about $2500 per m2 so simply allocate the 1000m2 piece adjoining Harcourts, including toilets and Mainstreet offices at a value of $2.5million, demolish the toilets and rebuild a smaller modern facility, resiting the transportable Mainstreet offices so they face directly toward the carpark.

Then construct a stage in fronting it (a Mainstreet proposal) so when there are events like the farmers' markets etc simply close off the Phoenix carpark and the rest of the time it remains a carpark. Providing 58 additional carparks as replacements 'nearby” is daydreaming.

Mount Mainstreet, Mount businesses and local Mounties don't want a bar of this TCC staff-driven project.

R Paterson, Matapihi.

Editor's note: Tauranga City Council has decided not to respond to this letter.