Plans for a six-theatre cinema complex at the Base have prompted accusations from a Hamilton city councillor that Tainui is building a "mini-city" at Te Rapa.
The owner of the $200 million retail complex, Tainui Group Holdings (TGH), has applied to the council for resource consent to develop a cinema complex above the new Farmers mall.
The cinema would be another addition to the retail hub's customer-pulling power of about 77 shops and eateries and potentially a pub, and Tainui's commercial arm also plans to develop a further 10 hectares to accommodate a medical centre, offices and a hotel.
TGH also has applications in for a 5000-square-metre bulk retail store beside Mitre 10 Mega and for a couple of smaller retail buildings within the Base.
Some councillors are growing worried about the retail centre sucking business and vitality out of the central city.
Councillor Dave Macpherson said the council needed to put pressure on TGH which is one of the city's largest property owners, to show its entire plans for the Base before approving the latest stage.
"Clearly they are heading it towards a mini-city – by increment. Currently it only competes in the daytime retail market, but this is a whole new venture into the evening entertainment market. It will be in even more direct competition with the CBD," Mr Macpherson said.
"At no stage have they ever said to us: we plan to build a city centre out there. It's happening on a piecemeal basis.” He said the Base was now nothing like the original plan his council was told of when the Warehouse opened.
TGH chief executive Mike Pohio said it had followed all council processes.
"There's no way any developer in New Zealand could come up with a vision for what is going to be a 25-year project and say what they started with is what is going to meet the market at the end."
The Base did not intend to compete with the central business district or the Chartwell shopping centre, he said. "It's a regional centre we are developing – it's not a fight against the city and most tenants at the Base also had a presence in the city.
The council's concerns about development at the Base have strained relationships with Tainui, which recently won a High Court ruling against a council plan (variation 21) to restrict commercial development outside the central business district.
Mr Pohio said the only grounds on which the Base's cinema application could be declined would be due to traffic and their studies showed any increase would be negligible.
Councillor Gordon Chesterman said trying to prevent development with new rules was stopping something people wanted. "I think the horse has already bolted and it's crazy we are attempting to halt development and the completion of the Base project. The cinema will simply add to the value of the Base. It will be another option like Chartwell but for people who live in the north."
The city already has two mainstream cinemas – in Chartwell and Centre Place – as well as the independent Victoria Cinema and arthouse cinema Lido. The proposed new cinema would cover 8000sqm and seat 1340.
Mr Chesterman said the council should encourage Tainui to invest money back in the central business district and to help develop the city centre after it had completed its plans for the Base.
Mayor Bob Simcock declined to comment on specific consents.
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