Tauranga's CBD 'is in crisis” with empty businesses and construction giving the perception it's a 'place to stay away from”.

Downtown Tauranga board chair Brian Berry made the comments at a Tauranga City Council finance, strategy and risk committee meeting earlier today.

The organisation that represents and promotes CBD businesses was presenting its six monthly report.

'Our CBD is in crisis, and we collectively are trying to solve that in a timely timeframe,” said Berry.

'In the wider community there's a real perception problem. It's been there for the last three to four years, that the CBD is a place to stay away from.”

He said parking costs and parking availability was challenging, but availability had improved with the reintroduction of paid parking in December last year.

'There are multiple vacant shops, it's dead down there, problems with vagrants and so on.

'And with the various substantial developments getting underway or nearing completion, the situation's only going to get worse in the near term.”

Construction of the $304 million civic precinct Te Manawataki O Te Papa was underway as well as several other construction projects including new council offices on Devonport Road and a new courthouse on Spring Street.

Berry said last week the organisation collated a list of business that had recently closed or would be closing and it totalled 12 businesses, which was a 'real issue” for the CBD.

The occupancy rate of city centre sites was 76 per cent. There were currently 680 occupiable sites with 514 of them currently full and 166 either empty or under development according to DTT's report to council.

He said DTT promoted solutions for the issues with one of them being a park and ride to alleviate parking pressures and it was a 'major frustration” that nothing had been achieved.

Downtown Tauranga board chair Brian Berry. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Other solutions Berry suggested included rates relief for the CBD businesses, especially retail businesses and for council to put a hold on payments of licences to occupy for hospitality businesses.

Commission chair Anne Tolley responded to the solutions raised by Berry and said the council was looking at the licences to occupy, and they would look at rates when they were able to.

'The values of properties had decreased quite significantly in the CBD and that meant that there was quite a considerable drop in rates for a lot of those commercial premises.”

Another issue the city centre was facing was an increase in criminal activity and antisocial behaviour.

According to DTT's report to council there was a 'significant increase” in the number of reported incidents of intimidation, vandalism, increased gang presence, break-ins, thefts, aggression and anti-social behaviour.

Berry said safety was a 'major issue” for people circulating around the CBD, but also for business owners with people going in and threatening business owners.

DTT marketing and communications manager Sally Cooke said safety and security was a 'significant issue”.

'It's hindering their [businesses] ability to attract and retain staff because of the antisocial behaviour,” said Cooke.

'There's the break-ins, there's the theft, there's the intimidation. Their staff are scared, they're scared.

'A lot of our member businesses in the retail sector have had to give their staff alarms. They can't walk to the cars by themselves.”

The organisation held a meeting in December with its members, the council and police and these were the issues raised by the businesses said Cooke.

DTT asked the council for funding towards security guards and Māori wardens.

TCC chief executive Marty Grenfell said the council previously provided facilities for Māori Wardens at the old library building that had since been demolished.

Commission chair Anne Tolley. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Tolley said: 'We might want to think about or have a chat about where the Māori Wardens have gone and what sort of support they're giving to them, because even their presence in the city can make a difference. '

She said security was an issue raised by the Mount Maunganui Mainstreet organisation as well so it was something council was going to have to have a think about.

'I'm a great believer in the old ‘Bobby on the beat”, that visibility of police presence on a consistent basis, and we seem to have gone away from that,” said Tolley.

Cooke said they had spoken with police and discussed some practical steps that included police doing a walk around after meetings in the city and if they were driving back to the station they took different routes through the streets.

She said police were open to looking at these suggestions, which was 'great”.

To close Tolley said: 'We do have a completely different situation in the CBD and it is going to be a long time before it's fully resolved and all the investment that's currently underway is completed, and we get hundreds and hundreds more people actually living and working in the CBD.”

Cooke followed with: 'We do have some great pockets of businesses working hard, doing good and people who love coming here, so don't forget us.”

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