Marlborough Candidates Aim To Bring Life Back To Blenheim’s CBD

Saturday, 13 September 2025, 2:56 pm
Article: Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter

Blenheim’s town centre has been thrust into the limelight ahead of this year’s local body elections, with more apartments and “no more caffs” pitched as possible pick-me-ups. 

Several election candidates made CBD revitalisation part of their minute-long introduction at a meet-the-candidates evening on Thursday featuring Marlborough District Council hopefuls campaigning for the Blenheim and Marlborough Sounds wards, as well as those seeking the mayoralty. 

The event at the Lansdowne Park Pavilion in Blenheim was hosted by the Marlborough Express and the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce. 

Addressing the audience, Tamsin Cooper appeared to have positioned herself as the champion of the CBD’s comeback, placing it at the centre of her vision for the region. 

“My top priorities for this region would probably [be] CBD revitalisation,” she said. 

“I actually have on-the-ground experience working and managing CBD revitalisation, and filling vacant retail stores in a project I ran in another, larger centre,” she said about her time working for the Dunedin City Council. 

“That project is still running successfully today.” Blenheim’s ACT-aligned candidate, John Hyndman, said he thought “inner-city living” could be the thing to bring people back into town, something that had been on the council’s radar as far back as 2016 and was permitted as part of the Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan. 

“There’s a move all around New Zealand to move residential [housing] into the city centre, and I think that would work really well here in Marlborough,” he said. 

“The CBD has the bones of a wonderful little centre for the town. It would need a lot of work. It needs a plan ... and it’s something I would like to be involved in.” 

Aimee Payne said arts, culture and events were just as important to a community as roads and flood protection. 

“Marlborough needs more than just infrastructure – it needs soul,” she said. 

“The basics like roads, rubbish, and water are essential ... [but] the arts, culture and events are just as important for building our identity, wellbeing and sense of belonging. 

“They make Marlborough a place where people want to live, work and visit.” 

David Croad said the council should continue to support Marlborough businesses. 

“We do a lot of work from a regional development point of view,” he said. 

“I think the key here is that we continue as a council to ensure that we invest in the backbone of Marlborough, which is predominantly primary industry and tourism.” 

But it was Bob Watson who was quizzed on what would reinvigorate the town centre during the “In the Bag” segment, during which candidates chose from a collection of bags containing questions about the future of Marlborough. 

Watson said Blenheim business owners had told him they didn’t want any more cafes in the CBD. 

“This morning I was talking to some of the caff owners, and one of the things that they really don’t want is ... more caffs, because they’re actually competing against each other,” he said. 

“They need things that don’t actually take away more [of] what they already have, because they’re struggling.” 

Brian Dawson said council staff should “of course” use smart technologies to operate more efficiently, after drawing an artificial-intelligence-themed question from his bag. 

“There are lots of opportunities for council to think about efficiency, and ... in terms of technology it is definitely AI,” he said. 

“It’s very important, of course, that we understand where AI needs to stop ... and the fantastic skilled and talented professionals that we do employ at council take over.” 

Hyndman drew a bag with questions about councillor pay, a hot topic since councillors Matt Flight and Jonathan Rosene said they would not be running for financial reasons. 

Hyndman suggested council pay could be means-tested to allow for younger people to participate. 

“I’m an old guy. I’ve got independent means ... It must be very difficult for a younger person with a family and with a job to hold down to try and make ends meet and find the time to go to council.

“Perhaps we should means-test councillors. I’d be happy with that.” 

The more jovial quick-fire round featured some unique answers. 

Buks Lundt told the audience of voters that his favourite subject in school was “lunch”, drawing a laugh from the audience. 

Former football referee Cyril Dawson, sporting a Manchester United T-shirt, declared “Yes, I’m a Man U supporter,” before revealing the first concert he went to was Peter Franklin. 

Watson struggled to tell the audience which app or website he opened first in the mornings. 

“I use mostly alternative media app[s] ... But yeah, I’m not sure,” he said. 

Cathie Bell did not hesitate before ruling that sandals and socks were a “crime”. 

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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