\u201cWe suddenly had to squeeze in vehicles, making it hard for the volume of people that attended to move freely.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said display vehicles were relocated to alternative parking areas, where exhibitors \u2013 and even band members \u2013 were issued parking tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdmittedly, council did waive them, but it still shouldn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banner said that event in particular highlighted the consequences of having little flexibility in the use of one of the Mount\u2019s \u201cmost important\u201d public spaces.<\/p>\n
Mount Business Association manager Jay Banner. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support the markets and we recognise the important role they play; what we are asking for is balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said a public space should never unintentionally become dominated by one organiser through a cumulative effect of repeated bookings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new policy gives council an opportunity to reinforce two important principles: that commercial activity should deliver genuine public benefit; and the public spaces should remain freely accessible for a wide range of users.\u201d<\/p>\n
Te Tuhi Mareikura Charitable Trust and Mount Business Association board member Julie Paama-Pengelly said the trust previously used the park for international, national and cultural events but now found it difficult to book. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t get bookings because it\u2019s overused for particular priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Te Tuhi Mareikura Charitable Trust chairwoman Julie Paama-Pengelly. Photo \/ Andrew Warner<\/p>\n
She said the future use of Coronation Park should give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi by recognising the area\u2019s history and strategic significance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that we\u2019ve got used to a particular model in that park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we lock it up in one type of event and we don\u2019t make it open to be inclusive, then we lose that diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Community benefit should be evidenced\u2019<\/p>\n
Chris Duffy, a co-director of The Little Big Markets alongside Rachelle Duffy, spoke to their submission.<\/p>\n
Chris Duffy said the Mount Maunganui precinct needed \u201cproven activation\u201d and the Little Big Markets provided exactly that.<\/p>\n
The markets had been at Coronation Park for the last 13 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not asking for special treatment. We are simply asking for the same standard of evidence to be required for every decision made under this policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duffy said no evidence existed when the two-per-month cap was introduced, so the business commissioned Marketview to gather data across 20 market days.<\/p>\n
The written submission said Marketview found there were, on average, 4.3% more card transactions in the Mount precinct on market days compared to non-market days, and 1% higher daily spend. Spending from visitors from outside Tauranga was 3.5 percentage points higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew money, not displaced local spend, and we\u2019re happy to be held to that evidence, we\u2019re simply asking that everyone else is too,\u201d Duffy told the committee.<\/p>\n
He said good decisions about public land required a consistent standard.<\/p>\n
The Little Big Markets directors Chris and Rachelle Duffy. <\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity benefit should be evidenced, not assumed, and proven operators should carry meaningful weight in allocation decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
He asked councillors to amend the policy so commercial impact would be balanced against \u201cholistic public benefit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic land belongs to the public. Decisions about it should be made transparently on evidence, and with all the right voices at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin Kalabza, a regular Little Big Markets vendor, said the markets had been a \u201cblessing\u201d for his business.<\/p>\n
A graphic designer with 15 years\u2019 experience, Kalabza sells custom-designed stickers at the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Little Big Markets for me was really a starting line, it was a training ground, and there are so many young people, very brave people, who go there and really try.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Mount Maunganui needed more \u201ccreators\u201d and the markets helped those businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do such great work for the community, for creators who want to make a change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should really try to collaborate and help each other, rather than fight, it\u2019s [Coronation Park] literally an incubator, a place where dreams come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee will deliberate on the policy at its August 18 meeting.<\/p>\n