The Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling on Wellington City Council to scrap the Golden Mile for good, after the Council’s own review confirmed the project’s business case has collapsed.

The scheme lurched from a $78 million budget to an estimated $220 million. The Council has voted today to investigate a scaled-back version of the same project with a budget of $20-$40 million.

Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman, James Ross, said:

“Mayor Andrew Little says Wellington needs urban renewal, but banning cars and adding some ornamental shrubbery to the Golden Mile is meaningless if the Council has hollowed out the CBD.”

“Wellington already has the highest commercial rates in the country and the second-highest residential rates. The number of households needing hardship assistance to pay their rates bill has increased by 150 percent in two years. Council is pricing out the people and businesses that give Wellington life, and that’s what’s keeping the Capital down.”

“Spending another $500 per household on salvaging Tory Whanau’s legacy project while businesses shutter and residents leave is a waste of good ratepayer money. If the Council wants urban renewal, it should start by making life in Wellington affordable again.”