South Island's biggest bulk retail centre planned for Rolleston
Rolleston near Christchurch could become home to the South Island’s biggest bulk shopping centre if a plan by property developer the Carter Group gets the go-ahead.
To be called The Station, the development would have about 50 stores and eateries, including a large hardware barn and parking for almost 2000 cars.
The 18-hectare site is in the Rolleston industrial area near State Highway 1. It is part of the Christchurch-based Carter Group’s $500 million Iport business park.
The land is opposite a 6-hectare site where the developer obtained resource consent in 2020 to build a Costco warehouse with about 875 car parks.
Carter Group director Tim Carter said The Station would be the South Island’s biggest outdoor shopping complex, and one-and-a-half times bigger than Tower Junction, Christchurch’s largest bulk retail complex.
It would have entrances off Jones Rd, Iport Dr, Link Dr and Hoskyns Rd, and include new internal roads.
Carter said they had been in negotiations with a number of potential tenants, including hardware chains.
“We now want to get on and get it consented, so we can sit down and focus on cementing agreements with tenants.”
He said he was unable to comment on any plans to build the Costco store.
Despite the Costco consent, the Carter Group would need to secure a deal with the American retail giant to go ahead with the project. The retailer has discount member-only bulk-buy stores around the world selling groceries and other items.
Costco will open its first New Zealand outlet in Auckland next month, and has announced an interest in expanding to Wellington and Christchurch.
Carter said that if Selwyn District Council approves the resource consent application for The Station, construction would start next year. It would be built in stages over several years.
They were confident of obtaining consent, he said, as zoning allowed bulk retail use and only minor matters of earthworks, waste management and access needed to be addressed.
The consent sketch plan shows a hardware barn at the north-west corner of the site, with a large furniture store and about 25 medium-sized stores selling goods including homewares, home furnishings, books, electronics, sporting goods, clothing and footwear, and auto parts.
About 20 smaller tenants in the centre of the complex could include food and drink outlets, a bank, post store, pharmacy, hair salon, and real estate office.
The Station plan includes space for a potential park-and-ride facility and bus station, alongside Rolleston’s existing city-bound railway station.
The Carter Group has recently argued that a flyover to be built by Waka Kotahi linking Rolleston residential and industrial areas should be angled to end near Iport and the railway station.
A park-and-ride could then be used for residents to catch buses, and in future trains, into the city, it says.
Carter said while this facility would be very helpful for Rolleston, it was not vital to the success of The Station.
Last year the Carter Group applied to the council to rezone 98 hectares nearby, between Two Chain Rd and Main South Rd, from rural to industrial.
The group also has plans for a subdivision with 2100 homes and a commercial area in Rolleston, but its rezoning application was turned down by the council earlier this year. The Carter Group has appealed the decision to the Environment Court, but a hearing date is yet to be set.
Another Christchurch developer, Cooper Developments, is seeking tenants for a planned town centre style shopping centre on the residential side of the town, to be called Rolleston Fields.
Why are ghosts such bad liars?
...You can see right through them.
No, we haven't lost the plot! July 1st is International Joke Day and because laughter is good for your body, we want to get involved.
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A message from Christchurch Police
Christchurch Police are urging the community to ensure children are properly restrained following a concerning vehicle stop in Harewood. About 11:30am yesterday, Thursday 4 July, Police stopped a vehicle travelling almost 20kmh above the speed limit on Harewood Road.
When Police came to the window, four children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years were seen in the back and front passenger seats with their car seats incorrectly fitted.
The driver was issued a formal warning and an infringement notice. Police are working with the driver around the correct way to secure seats, secure the children, and making sure they have the right seat for their size.
Inspector Ash Tabb says, ensuring car seats are properly attached and kids are properly restrained is essential in reducing the risk of serious injuries or worse if a crash occurs.
“I am glad this didn’t result in more serious consequences; not only were the kids not properly restrained, but the vehicle was also travelling almost 20 kmh above the speed limit, two of four known crash and serious crash contributors, labelled RIDS (Restraints, Impairment, Distraction, and Speed).
"We understand parents, and caregivers may not know what the right seat is, or how to attach it correctly for your child. There are several services available to assist people with this, including child restraint technicians who can provide advice on what restraint may be needed. They can also help you fit them to your vehicle,” Inspector Tabb says.
Check out Whānau Āwhina Plunket website here.
Or the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi website here.
Kaitlyn
"I've been doing compost workshops for the community for four years. But I guess composting for like the past eight years.
It originally started because we moved and our house came with the compost bin. I was curious to know what it was, so we started composting, but like, just chucking stuff and not really knowing what we're doing. Then pumpkins and potatoes just started growing out of it.
I got into gardening during lockdown. My French teacher gave me some broccoli seeds, and I grew those and then obviously, you go through the journey of discovering soils are really important to grow healthy kai.
When I was in Year 13, I was volunteering at an orchard and I ran my first compost workshop. It was pretty cool. And then people just wanted me to keep doing them. Me and my sister got an internship at the Council doing compost education for the community but my compost passion actually came from hearing about Kaicycle's composting programme in Wellington. I want to set up a composting business like that.
Me and my sister started Compost Club at Uni last year. Our main aim is to make composting more accessible and commonplace on campus, especially for students because we find that students want to compost, but they don't know how or they don’t have the resources. We go to their flat and we run a mini workshop for them, come back three weeks later, check out how it's going.
I've taken a break this semester from burnout.
I just find it hard to say no, you get to that position where your body makes you say, no, I can't do any more. I feel like in the environmental space people burn out a lot. I guess why I've struggled with saying no, is because I feel like I can change the world. But no, I can't! We need everyone to do their little part to make a change.
I'm really passionate about cooking and growing healthy kai and having a slow life. And I haven't done that yet. But I'm working towards it."
- Kaitlyn
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
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