Queenstown’s CBD strategy

Queenstown town centre manager Steve Wilde, First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson and client services manager Lorraine Nicholson
Queenstown town centre manager Steve Wilde, First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson and client services manager Lorraine Nicholson
Queenstown town centre manager Steve Wilde, First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson and client services manager Lorraine Nicholson

Central Queenstown has traded on its good looks long enough and is in danger of losing its appeal, a new business group believes.

Downtown QT has been developed to work with local business and property owners to ensure the resort’s CBD offers the best it can to visitors and locals.

Town centre manager, Steve Wilde, says those involved need to take control of the situation and realise that Queenstown can no longer trade on its spectacular scenery.

He likens the success of the town in comparison to others as a sport.

“We want to be the best – we are the best. This is the training, the background work to keep us there.”

Consultant and managing director of First Retail Group, Chris Wilkinson, agrees.

“There’s a danger here of complacency because Queenstown is so successful.”

Wilkinson has been involved with city centres around the world and was a key player in the rejuvenation of Wellington.

He says Queenstown business owners are keen for guidelines and structure – including locally owned businesses and those with head offices in Auckland and Australia.

His organisation has been funded $35,000 by the Queenstown Lakes District Council to work with locals to prepare a strategy for the future. He expects that will be available in a month but will remain a living document. The council has already approved a $15,000 boost in the next financial year to work on the strategy.

The group has developed ten pillars to work on, including shaping the  centre by way of clusters to meet the market, working on transport and parking, aligning retail and hospitality sectors, differentiating Queenstown’s CBD from the likes of Frankton with Queenstown as an experiential destination supporting retail and artisan sectors, consistency across the service sector in factors such as opening hours, shaping future development, use of Wi-Fi technology to gather data and ensuring it remains relevant to locals.

“We don’t want a situation where all they can buy if they go out for lunch is a Prada T-shirt,” says Wilkinson.

Wilde says the incorporated society is reliant on memberships to continue its work. It has already attracted over 200 members, many paying in excess of the suggested membership fees of between $350 plus GST for a small business and $1500 plus GST for a corporate business. Source: Chris Wilkinson.

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