Latest / The SME Stream / Carolyn Young: Retail NZ chief executive on Wellington businesses calling for the council to reconsider Golden Mile project

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Carolyn Young: Retail NZ chief executive on Wellington businesses calling for the council to reconsider Golden Mile project · The SME Stream

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  Speaker 1: Now listen. In Wellington, the opposition against the constant roadworks
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: has just gone up a notch. Retail New Zealand, Hospitality
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  Speaker 1: in New Zealand and the Bus and Coach Association have
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  Speaker 1: banded together the calling on the Council to stop the
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  Speaker 1: plans to develop the Golden Mile. Carolyn Young is the
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  Speaker 1: chief executive at Retail New Zealand. Hey, Carolyn, how's it
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  Speaker 1: going good? Thank you? Now? Is this because Tory was
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  Speaker 1: on the radio here on Newstalk Z'DB this morning and
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  Speaker 1: said it's a bottom line, the Golden Mile.
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  Speaker 2: No, it's not. We were talking about this last week,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, obviously there's a lot of in the
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  Speaker 2: media last week and of course the vote around the
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  Speaker 2: airport Shears was taken on Thursday, and we felt it's
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  Speaker 2: a really good opportunity for us to reiterate the need
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  Speaker 2: to take stock, have a pause and consult told around
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  Speaker 2: what is the right thing we need so we go forward.
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  Speaker 1: When you heard her say this morning, then it's like
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  Speaker 1: nothing else is the bottom line, but Golden Mile is
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  Speaker 1: a bottom line. How did you feel?
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  Speaker 2: Well? Pretty disappointed really, because we know that the issues
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  Speaker 2: around Thorn and Key are significant that businesses have really struggled,
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  Speaker 2: and businesses are closing now, taking the opportunity right now
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  Speaker 2: to sit down and find out how this could be
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  Speaker 2: done better and understanding the environment that businesses are trading
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  Speaker 2: and right now it's an extremely difficult trading environment. Businesses
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  Speaker 2: are struggling anyway. And then when you've got you know,
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  Speaker 2: hundreds of meters of road cones and fences up in
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  Speaker 2: front of your entrance, people don't know if you're open
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  Speaker 2: or not open, there's no where to park, they're not
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  Speaker 2: coming through, and all of the businesses down Thorn and
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  Speaker 2: Key have really struggled. So it's really an opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: stop and think, how could we do this better, and
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  Speaker 2: what parts of Thorn and Key do we need to
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  Speaker 2: complete as through the plan and what would be better
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  Speaker 2: to think a little bit differently, and then thinking about
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  Speaker 2: Courtney Place, you know, actually do a little bit more
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  Speaker 2: consultation with businesses. Don't rush in and try and get
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  Speaker 2: it started early. Let's take our time.
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  Speaker 1: Understand your problem is you're a real person operating in
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  Speaker 1: the real world. They're not what they haven't listened to you, Carolyn. Well,
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  Speaker 1: now why are they going to listen to you?
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  Speaker 2: Well, all we can do this. So there's three business associations,
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  Speaker 2: so Hospitality in New Zealand, Retail in New Zealand, and
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  Speaker 2: the Bus and Approach Association. We're an agreement that more
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  Speaker 2: needs to be done.
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  Speaker 1: So basically, are you going to make them listen to
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  Speaker 1: you by just harping at them?
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  Speaker 2: Well, sure, we're hoping that we well we have regular
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  Speaker 2: meetings with the council and we give them regular feedback
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  Speaker 2: and I'm not sure that we're being listening to. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, getting out and getting a bit more forward thinking,
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  Speaker 2: a bit more media in front of it, hopefully we'll
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  Speaker 2: get a little bit more traction.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, good, good luck. I really hope you guys actually
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  Speaker 1: succeed with this. It seems like a really stupid idea.
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  Speaker 1: Carolyn Young, chief executive at Retail New Zealand,