The public carpark outside the former Clubs of Marlborough will temporarily change, with its all day (eight-hour) parking reduced to a four-hour limit and a portion leased for private use.
The area closest to Russell Terrace will be leased to Alfred Taylor Developments Ltd (ATD) for two years as a construction staging space for their new hotel project. Because the hotel site is tight and bordered by the Taylor River stop bank, the extra room will help the developers manage construction more efficiently and safely.
Council’s Group Property Manager Jamie Lyall told February’s full Council meeting ATD had requested use of the space to support construction logistics.
“A commercial land lease will be established for the two-year construction period including outgoings and reinstatement requirements effective from 1 March,” he said. “The proposal involves linking the Russell Terrace construction site with the carpark area and securing the combined area with fencing to support safe and efficient site management.”
As part of this arrangement, access from the existing Council car park through to Russell Terrace will be closed.
The change will remove 25 public carparks while the remaining 36 will shift from all-day parking to a four-hour limit. Contractors working on the hotel will be directed to park in the Alfred Street Parking Building, the Railway Station carpark or on surrounding streets, Mr Lyall said.
In 2024 Council adopted a new parking model introducing a tiered zoning system across the town centre. Carparks closest to the centre now have higher pricing and shorter time limits while those further out offer lower pricing and longer time limits
Several nearby businesses have asked for the carparks to move away from all-day zoning to help improve customer turnover. Changing the area to four-hour parking also brings it in line with Queen Street, Wynen Street and High Street carparks.
