Annabel Turley: Christchurch Business Association Chair on the Arts Centre's food truck plans

Christchurch's Business Association is calling out the food truck plans of the city's Arts Centre.  

The centre's applied for licences for 33 trucks to operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week. 

But the Christchurch Business Association believes this is unfair, with chair Annabel Turley saying city businesses are subsidising the Arts Centre. 

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the centre is getting $5.5 million over the next decade, and the rate differential for commercial compared to residential is a lot higher.   

Turley says food trucks would also cheapen the site. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now I got a little battle brewing over food trucks
in christ Church. The Arts Center wants to allow more
than thirty food trucks to operate twelve hours a day,
seven days a week. But that's upset the local hospo businesses.
I feel like their lunch is getting cut. Central City
Business Association chair Annabel Turlier is with me.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hey, Annabel, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
So the basic argument here is that if you're running
a normal hospo business, you've got all the overheads, you've
got the rent and the rates and all that kind
of stuff, and these guys don't, and so it's unfair.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, that's part of the argument.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
What's the rest of the argument.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, you know the Art Center, it's a heritage and
cultural site that starts as the university and they're trying
to change it to drive through takeaways.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Is it drive through or walk through walk through? What's
the problem with.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
That though, Well, it cheapens it. And like Richard people said,
he's got some lands. Is he just popped some caravans
on it and lease it out to retail. What's the point.
But we're going to be the best city in the world,
and now this is like a step backwards looking saying, oh,

(01:02):
we're still in recovery most from the earthquake. Earthquake was
over a decade ago.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Do you think in terms of competition with the hospow
business is the existing hospow businesses is it actually is
there much competition or is it catering to a different
crowd Like you've got the people who just walking through
want a really quick snack on the walk, and then
there are other people who have the time to sit
down and have a nice leisurely lunch, different crowds.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, you look at Little High, which is sort of
modeled off the more like food truck, lots of different
options under one roof. I've only got eight eight at
Little High. Little High is quiet like this. I would
have thought, you know, they would have you know, eight
like eight is probably fear for the art center to have, yeah,

(01:47):
not twity three.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
And part of the problem obviously is the fact that
this is twelve hours a day, seven days a week, right,
would weekends be okay?

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Oh definitely. And the other part of the problem is
actually our businesses are substance. I seen the Arts Center.
The Art Center gets is getting five and a half
million dollars over the next ten years, and the rate
differential for commercial compared to residential is a lot higher.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, okay, so there's a.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Number of arguments here. It's not just about these young
like these people with food trucks undercutting the established businesses.
There's a number of issues. The Art Center spent a
lot of money saying it was a heritage site and
they need to save the Art Center, but now they're
cheap in it with these caravans.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Annabel, thank you for running us through that. I really
appreciate us. Annabel Turly, Central City Business Association chairperson. For
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