Square revamp on agenda

The controversial Montgomery Square carpark upgrade is set to be thrashed out at a Nelson City Council meeting next week.

Five councillors – Ian Barker, Gail Collingwood, Mike Cotton, Aldo Miccio and Graeme Thomas – yesterday demanded a special meeting be called to halt the $1.2 million revamp. It's now been added to the agenda of a council meeting next Thursday.

Councillors are concerned the project, which is scheduled to begin in January, will result in the loss of more carparks than originally envisaged and that plans differ from the concept they had approved.

Council chief executive Keith Marshall said the council was welcome to stop the project. "I'm really relaxed about that."

But councillors were given the opportunity to halt implementation of the Heart of Nelson strategy after the Montgomery Square concerns were first raised and Mr Miccio was the first one to respond saying it should proceed, he said.

Asked whether he thought the upcoming elections were driving councillors to react, Mr Marshall replied: "I think there must be an element of that".

Mr Marshall did not believe the gifting of the land for carparking raised legal issues that might stop the revamp going ahead. Even though new green spaces were to be established, it was still going to be mainly used as a carpark, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News