Marlborough Council Spends Almost $1.8m On Central Blenheim Site

Saturday, 31 May 2025, 4:43 pm
Article: Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter

The Marlborough District Council has bought land beside its new Blenheim library and art gallery, earmarking it as a future space for community activities.

Located between High St and Wynen St, the land is made up of five freehold titles with a total area of 1147m².

The council paid $1,787,500 for the site.

Mayor Nadine Taylor said the opportunity to buy the site in such a community-focused part of town was one that the council “could not afford to miss”.

“This purchase is about future-proofing a vital part of Blenheim’s town centre for future development opportunities.

"The site is next to an iconic council asset – Te Kahu o Waipuna – a special building which has quickly established itself as a hub for our community,” she said.

“Council has decided to secure the site to ensure what is developed is complementary to our library and art gallery, [and] adds value to our CBD and to our community at large.”

The site had been largely empty since the City Hotel building, built in the early 1900s, was demolished in 2014.

While the council had no immediate plans for the area, Taylor said the purchase would open up a conversation on the future of central Blenheim.

“We [will] explore options for the best long-term use of this site. We are keen to get the community’s input and this will happen as part of council’s planning processes.”

Group manager property and community facilities Jamie Lyall said the council bought the site for within 10% its valuation and would pay for it with a loan from existing budgets for the first year.

“This purchase shows [the] council is prepared to invest in the future of the Blenheim CBD. We know there are challenges out there for our retail sector and that the town centre has been changing over time,” Lyall said.

“Step one is to secure the site so we can then consider all future options for it and engage with the public to have their say about its longer term use.

“We have had numerous approaches to council with ideas for developments in the centre of town including parking, apartments and pocket parks.”

The site’s zoning had no restrictions on the type of development, and a permitted building height of up to 20m.

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