Mahe Drysdale: Tauranga mayor reveals city will wait to introduce outdoor dining charges

Tauranga City Council will wait until mid-2025 to expand charges for letting businesses offer al fresco dining.

The fee per-square-metre of footpath use was meant to apply from July. 

Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale says delaying its introduction recognises the tough conditions for hospitality now.

He says they're now rethinking how high the fee should be. 

"That's a conversation we need to have with the people that are on the ground and using the space."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now to the drama about the Elfresco dining. You'll have
caught up on this happening in total, also happening in
Queenstown in Totinger. The plan is to charge businesses that
use street space for dining up to one hundred and
fifty dollars a year per square meter that they use.
Local businesses are not happy with this, so the council
has now made a decision to give all businesses a
one hundred percent discount on those fees until mid next year.

(00:23):
Mahir Drysdale is the mayor of toting a Home. Aham
is giving them a discount of like a complete one
hundred percent discount, not an admission that you guys charging
them this much is a bit of a punish.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
No, I think it's it's a couple of reasons. So
these these fees came in on the first of July,
obviously before we were elected. We understand how tough it
is in the environment out there right now, you know,
in the CBD where we're trying to make it more vibrant,
you know, which has meant a lot of our hospitality

(00:56):
businesses have had to suffer through, you know, construction works
all around them, and so you know, we want to
try to give them a little bit of a hand up.
You know, we do want to put these these agreements
in place, but we're saying is we're not going to
charge you and until at least next year, and that
will give us an opportunity to get out understand you know,

(01:17):
what the charges should be and have them consult on
on those charges.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
So that does that That sounds to me like you
were prepared to have another look at it and maybe
bring those charges down. Is that right?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh? Absolutely, we we haven't set these charges. You know,
this was inherited by us, so yeah, we'll absolutely have
a look obviously, you know, we we want these businesses
to be around because that drives the vibrancy of our city.
So you know, we we want to work with for
sector and make sure that that you know, we're getting
a return for for them using our space, but we're

(01:52):
also supporting them and that's that's very much. You know,
what our our counsel wants to be is transparent in
the county.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Gut tell you that it's maybe a little bit high,
because one hundred and fifty dollars per square meter per
year is what Auckland charge. Is it like that's its
highest charge in Auckland is many times bigger than total.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah. Look, I don't know, to be honest, and you
know that's that's a conversation we need to have for
the people that are on the ground and using using
the space.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yea.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
But you know, we've had a very complicated system in
place around you know what what the sort of you
know how how good the streets and all that sort
of stuff. So what we've tried to do is simplify
that have a couple of different charges. But you know,
we're absolutely looking prepared to look at that. And you know,

(02:44):
at the moment we're only being charging the CBD nowhere
else and we're sort of bringing these charges in across
the city. So you know, that's that's something that we
want to sort of consult on understand should it be
the same everywhere? And you know, what's of those charges
be And that's what we'll do over the next.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Yeah, I'm please, I'm sure people will be pleased.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Here.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Listen to something else. I saw that you voted against
adding fluoride to the water because you're not sure it's safe.
What are you worried.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
About I think there's a there's a lot of studies
and obviously a court case and in a in a
in America that's just come out saying there's a unreasonable
risk to to you know, in safety risks. So all
I all I really want to do is I want
to hear it from the d G that she's happy

(03:34):
that those you know, all those studies are you know,
aren't aren't valid and and she's still very comfortable, but
it's it's safe for our people. And that's that's really
you know.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Because the last d G. Did the last d G,
Ashley Bloomfield, decide that that it was compulsory it was
going to be added to water and stuff. So is
his his take on it not sufficient?

Speaker 2 (03:59):
I think it has just been further information since those
decisions were made, and I think I think, you know,
those those decisions should be be looked at with the
research and you know, if they come back to us
and say, yeah, it's absolutely safe, then you know, I'm
very comfortable adding it to the water. But they're also

(04:19):
under a court case, you know, against the Bill of Rights,
and you know that's that's something that they also need
to consider whether it's an impingement on our Bill of Rights.
And you know, once I've done that, you know we'll
we'll go along with with what the Director General of
Health says.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
All Right, my heir, thank you very much. I really
appreciate you time. Mate. This is my hair Drysdale, Mayor
of Turning. I imagine quite a few business will be
pleased to hear that they're going to have a look
at that. For more from Hither Duplessy, Allen Drive listen
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