Support conditional on parking: Moyle

A declaration of support for a proposed Green Island medical centre to be built on a public car park comes with conditions, businessman John Moyle said.

Mr Moyle, the Green Island Business Association president and Saddle Hill Community Board member, said a Dunedin City Council letter declaring the association and board supported the sale of a public car park in Green Island to South Link Health Services Ltd was only half the story.

The association and board supported the medical centre being built on the condition the car parks lost were found elsewhere, he said.

Mr Moyle said since a letter drop by the Dunedin City Council in Green Island last week, he was being regularly stopped by people asking why the sale was supported by the organisations when it would result in fewer available parks in Green Island.

The letter said if the sale went through, South Link would contribute $20,000 plus GST to upgrade the unsealed public car park at the corner of Shand and Church Sts.

The upgrade would include marking out car parks for 35 cars and upgrading equipment in the Shand St playground.

Mr Moyle said the upgrade of the car park was not a suitable solution because motorists were already parking there, so it would not provide 35 new parks.

Council city property manager Kevin Taylor said although Mr Moyle sent a letter of support without conditions, when the details of the sale began ''unfolding'' the council decided to include the line about the association and board supporting the sale.

Since Mr Moyle sent the support letter, new information on the effect on car park availability had surfaced, including council research, revealing a demand for 48 public car parks.

''Providing 35 car parks further up Shand St is going to satisfy the need of the primary users of the existing car park,'' Mr Taylor said.

The council knew some motorists already parked in the unsealed park and would continue to collect data on the usage of the car parks.

The $20,000 proposed by South Link to upgrade the car park and playground would be enough to complete the upgrade and the council would not pay for a shortfall if the upgrade was more than $20,000.

''The developer would have to pay for it all. That was part of the original agreement ... we are not talking about making a new Rolls-Royce playground.''

South Link general manager Matthew Gilchrist said a design plan to build the centre on the proposed site was needed before the final number of public car parks available was known.

If the medical centre was built, his goal would be to have as close as possible to no car parks being lost in Green Island.

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