Foolish hand outs to businesses should stop

The Hutt City council has a culture of throwing money at businesses to encourage them to develop in Lower Hutt.  This is often done indiscriminately with no real benefit to ratepayers.  It is usually done behind closed doors with the public unaware of what is going on. 

The latest example is commercial developments and apartments having their charges waived and offered a rates discount, says an article in the Hutt News.   It should come as no surprise that Cr Roger Styles is pushing this idea.  Like many of his earlier ideas, he expects ratepayers to support businesses at any costs.  Council officers have said the extent of the rebates is hard to justify, and will bring minimal benefits to the city, so why are our elected representatives pushing ahead with it?   

Development can be a good thing.  It can bring in money and provide employment in the city.  But it should be looked at on a case by case basis, and encouraged when there will be a proven benefit to the community and the city.  If rate payers are subsidising it, ratepayers should receive some benefits. That is clearly not the situation in the latest case.

The apartments in Petone, and also Wellington, have clear benefits.  More people are frequenting the many cafes and restaurants.  The high density housing is close to public transport, so people can leave their cars at home, reducing traffic congestion. 

So why are developers staying away from Hutt Central?  If it was a desirable place for people to live, developers would already have built apartments there.  But let’s be honest, previous district plan have made parts of the central business district an eyesore.  Who wants to have an apartment housed between ugly concrete big box stores? 

So instead of throwing money at developers to entice them to build here, lets tighten up the district plan to make it a desirable place for apartment living.