Sign In / Register
Warkworth retailers are fuming over subcontractors working at the Oaks on Neville retirement development, who are hogging parking spots and scaring customers away.
Retailers complain trade vehicles sit all day in the spots in central Warkworth even though they are time-limited parking zones of 60 minutes.
The practice is especially aggravating as parking has been specifically set aside for contractors at the old Warkworth Toyota site, on the corner of Mill Lane and Whitaker Road.
Owner of Not Just Hats Rae Ward says all her clients complain parking is a problem for them and it’s detrimentally affecting the whole town.
“If you think you would like to come into town, but you know you can’t get a park, you are not going to come in,” she says.
Ms Ward has even resorted to asking her husband to drop her off at work, because she can no longer find parking in the Baxter Street car park.
Ms Ward’s sentiments are echoed by Warkworth Menswear owner Matt Henderson, So French Café owner Kristell Boisseau and Tahi Bar owner Ian Marriott.
Mr Henderson says when he opens up at 9am, trade vehicles are already parked out of the front of his shop and most stay all day.
One tradesman Mr Henderson spoke to said it was pointless giving out parking tickets, as he and other contractors simply saw them as just another business expense.
Mr Henderson was surprised to learn the contractor was unaware of parking at the old Warkworth Toyota site.
Ms Boisseau says Warkworth has always been a nightmare to find parking and the subcontractor situation does not help.
One tradesman her husband had spoken to had parked illegally for four weeks for eight hours each day and had never had a parking ticket.
Mr Marriott says people can’t find anywhere to park and it is stopping them finding somewhere to eat.
“We work very closely with food-related premises. If those businesses go out of business, then we go out of business,” he says.
He says the One Warkworth Business Association does nothing about the problem because of a conflict of interest.
The chair of One Warkworth, Chris Murphy, is an owner of the Oaks on Neville development.
However, Mr Murphy says there is little he can do. As an owner, he has no direct relationship with subcontractors, but instead deals with the main contractor, Kalmar.
“Kalmar are told regularly to give direction to subcontractors on where to park,” he says.
Subcontractors have been told not to use public carparks. Instead, the developers have provided about 60 spaces at the old Warkworth Toyota site and elsewhere.
Mr Murphy says there is no opportunity to act against Kalmar for subcontractor parking failings, since Kalmar itself is doing nothing wrong.
“We can’t do more than what we are doing, and we have done more than any other property owner or developer has done before,” Mr Murphy says.
Mr Murphy says currently there is a hive of contractor activity as the building completes its internal fit out, but it’s hoped the building will be complete in June so retailers should not have to wait for long.
He says once complete, Oaks’ residents and their families will support local retail businesses for years to come.
Kalmar project manager Tim Ellery confirms subcontractors have been told where they can park, but Kalmar cannot stop them from using public spaces.
“They are not meant to be parking in public parks, but we can’t force them.” he says.
Mr Ellery says Kalmar is supportive of people taking the matter up with Auckland Transport (AT) to urge more policing from traffic wardens.
AT spokesperson Mark Hannan says AT is aware of the parking problem and wardens are operating “a couple of times a week” in Warkworth to try to redress it. There has been some problems with signage that has hampered their work but this is being addressed.
He says that AT treats everybody equally and will not specifically target subcontractor vehicles.
