This development has been suspected for a while and yesterday Waikanae Ward Councilor Michael Scott confirmed it on the Destination Waikanae website.

“The sale has been the subject of very tight confidentiality. If that had not been the case then a speculator would have stepped in (there were other interested parties) and made the price unaffordable. For years since the park n ride was established there has been car park pressure. With the partnership of GWRC and NZTA together with the involvement of KCDC staff, along with a couple of elected members, a further 250 car parks will be created taking the pressure off the shopper car parking. This is likely to have a fast track over the next couple of month.

“There are abilities now to landscape the southern entrenched [entrance] to Waikanae. A new wine bar and hospitality options will be available in Waikanae with associated jobs and opportunities . There just needs to be a pause for some thought and creativity rather than knee jerk pessimism.”

Who were the other interested parties, we might well wonder?  No-one with any nous thinks that this area is going to be Retail Central after the Expressway opens, instead this will move to the west end of Te Moana Road (see earlier).

So, another giant parking lot. The only retailers likely to benefit are those along the west side of SH1 between the fish & chip shop and the travel agency where pedestrians cross to the station side.

It won’t take much pressure off the car parking around Mahara Place either, as there is a 4-hour time limit in those parks and it is enforced.

At least there is a nice big heritage tree in this area, but we can’t see how it’s going to be possible to landscape this area much.