Central Christchurch businesses are urging the City Council to stop funding the Christchurch Arts Centre Trust if it proceeds with plans to turn its site into a major food hub.

The Arts Centre Trust has applied for resource consent to increase the number of food trucks on its premises to 33, operating up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Annabel Turley, Chairperson of the Central City Business Association, said that the association, which represents 1,123 businesses, strongly opposes the proposal.

“Our executive board unanimously agreed on one thing: if the Arts Centre moves forward with its plans, to allow 33 food trucks to operate on their site for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, we call for all long-term funding to the Arts Centre Trust to be halted,” Turley said.

She added that they are not alone in their concerns. “Hospitality New Zealand, which represents 318 members, stands with us.”

Turley clarified that the businesses are not opposed to occasional food trucks at weekend events but take issue with what they see as a permanent threat to local businesses. “This isn’t a food festival. This is a permanent encroachment on the livelihood of businesses that have invested their blood, sweat, and dollars in the city, and it sends a really dangerous message. Why pour your heart into a permanent business when you can pop up a caravan and cash in?”

She also raised concerns about fairness. “Our members are already paying for the Arts Centre through their rates. We’re subsidising them to the tune of five and a half million over the next 10 years. It’s like asking a boxer to fight with one hand tied behind their back and then, for good measure, slap them in the face with a rolling fleet of food trucks that don’t have to deal with the same financial constraints.”

Turley argued that the proposal undermines the future stability of the city. “Some of our central city businesses have just come through one of the harshest winters in recent memory. They are still recovering, and this really feels like a kick in the guts. We’re building a city, not a pop-up carnival,” she said. “We cannot, and we will not, stand by while the business and city backbone are undermined.”

Property developer Richard Peebles echoed Turley’s concerns, expressing support for the Arts Centre while questioning whether the food truck expansion is in the city’s best interest.

“I’m a big supporter of the Arts Centre. Love to see it successful, enjoy the weekend markets, but I do have concerns about the number of food trucks and the permanent nature of them. We always assumed food trucks were a temporary activity until the CBD was rebuilt,” Peebles said.

Peebles also questioned the long-term impact on the central city. “It may be best for the Arts Centre, but I’m not sure it’s best for all of Christchurch,” he said. “If we knew we could have mobile food trucks and retail shops on sites in the CBD, I wonder if we would have built in the first place. It’s a lot cheaper for the operators, without the rates burden and the burdens of consenting, food compliance, extraction, trade waste, and grease traps. It’s a hellishly cheaper model, and if that’s what we want, then I’m sure other developers will follow suit.”

Peebles urged the council to consider the broader impact on Christchurch, adding, “Allowing a full, permanent 33 food trucks, that’s a massive offering—bigger than the Terrace combined. So we have to think seriously about what we’re doing.”