In a seven-page 2030 district plan submission to the Waitaki District Council, the chamber asks the council to add ‘‘business development and growth’’ as a key issue facing the district.
It also says the town’s Victorian precinct ‘‘still struggles’’ to find so-called ‘‘anchor’’ businesses that pay commercial rents.
It said the council should take heed as it writes the rules for the expanded Oamaru historic area through lower Thames St and into a large portion of the town’s central business district.
Otago chamber chief executive Dougal McGowan said yesterday the chamber recognised ‘‘the value and importance’’ of heritage but was also aware that ownership and the upgrades required of some heritage buildings was onerous.
‘‘You don’t want people to be leaving town to go shopping,’’ Mr McGowan said.
‘‘We’ve just got to manage that bit, making sure we’ve got really good-quality office space, or retail space, with what they can actually make. If rents get doubled, then the reality is that’s going to have an adverse affect on the retail environment.
‘‘Our fear is that extra compliance costs and a more challenging consent process will discourage businesses to invest. Low-quality buildings, small titles [and] an unwelcoming customer streetscape will lead to low-rent businesses which then builds on itself,’’ the chamber’s submission states.
‘‘After 20 years the Harbour and Tyne Sts area still struggles to find high-quality, sustainable anchor tenants who are able to pay rents that provide the landlord a commercial return on their investment. The area continues to need support from grant agencies.’’
Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust chairman Graeme Clark confirmed three current vacancies in trust properties in Harbour and Tyne Sts, but said he could not comment on the vacancies at this time.
Neither would he respond directly to the chamber’s statement, but he said the trust viewed heritage as a driver of economic growth.
‘‘What gives Oamaru its point of difference? The one thing we have got is great heritage and we should all be cashing in on it. It gives this small provincial town something different. The harbour and the precinct particularly — and the main street, the lower part of Thames St.
‘‘It gives us something to cling on to, a bit of culture — art, music, heritage.’’
Council heritage adviser Heather Bauchop said the council was required under the Resource Management Act to ‘‘have regard to any relevant entry on the Heritage New Zealand List when preparing district plans’’.
‘‘How that is done depends on the planning approach taken,’’ she said.
Since 1994, Oamaru's Victorian Precinct in Harbour and Tyne Sts has been recognised by Heritage New Zealand, but as of July 2017 the expanded Oamaru Historic Area on Heritage New Zealand's list includes much of the central business district.
