Shopping centre to double as expansion plan gets green light
A shopping centre in Christchurch’s northeast will more than double in size after the city council agreed to rezone a block of land next door.
The bulk-retail Homebase shopping centre, on Marshland Rd in Shirley, has about 15 stores including a Bunnings hardware barn, a car park, and a new supermarket about to be built.
Homebase owner Reefville Properties Ltd asked the council in mid-2020 to allow a plan change rezoning the 4.8 hectares next door, on the corner of Marshland Rd and QEII Drive (State Highway 74).
The company is owned by Christchurch brothers Glen and Max Percasky. The pair developed The Palms mall nearby in the 1990s, before selling it and building Homebase.
The Homebase expansion site is larger than the existing shopping centre and is now zoned for residential use. It is mostly vacant except for two houses.
The councillors’ decision agreed with a recommendation from its independent hearings panel, made following public submissions in 2020 and 2021.
It could still be appealed to the Environment Court.
Glen Percasky said they were very pleased with the approval, but it was too soon to say what shops would go on the corner block.
“We’ve got lots of ideas. We’ve put so much time and energy into this plan change, it would’ve been presumptuous to do anything until we knew we’d got it.”
Percasky confirmed large stores would be included, “along the same lines as Homebase”. He did not know when construction would begin.
He declined to say which operator would occupy the previously-approved supermarket, which will cover 4000 square metres and will be accessed by new traffic lights recently installed on Marshland Rd.
In a written submission as part of the rezoning application, Percasky said “the current size of Homebase is not large enough to attract the national and international retail tenants that are necessary for the long term”.
“In my opinion, the current zoning of the site does not appropriately reflect the commercial status of the area as a whole,” the submission said.
The hearings panel said it accepted there was an under-supply of large format retail in the north and east of Christchurch, compared to the south and central areas.
Housing expansion in the area has included the large Prestons subdivision just to the north.
In line with the hearing panel’s recommendation, the council attached conditions to the rezoning approval intended to reduce the effect of the expansion on The Palms.
They say the development must be staged, cannot add more than 20,000sqm of new retail floorspace, and cannot include clothing and footwear stores before 2031.
The Homebase expansion also must include a pedestrian and cycling link to the housing area to the west, and to Marshland Rd.
They bought up the land for expansion progressively, paying $3.6 million for the supermarket site, and $6.8m for the corner block.
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
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Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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