This decision is subject to an appeal period of 15 working days before it can be confirmed.
The Sunday produce market has been operating on the site since 2012, but applied retrospectively for resource consent after the market was closed following a complaint from a member of the public.
The complaints received by Wellington City Council related to matters including traffic congestion, parking issues and early morning truck noise.
An independent commissioner was appointed and a publicly notified process began which involved submissions, a hearing, and a site visit.
Council had given the market permission to keep operating while the resource consent was processed. It has been closed due to COVID-19 guidelines, but it will now be able to reopen officially when safety protocols allow subject to meeting the conditions imposed by the independent commissioner and outside of the appeal period.
The consent is granted to continue to operate a Sunday produce market subject to some conditions including hours of set up restricted to 7am-3.30pm, set noise emission levels not to be exceeded, and a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to mitigate traffic and parking issues on Morgan Street and surrounding streets must be submitted to Council.
The consent is limited under Section 123(b) to a period of 3 years from the date of this decision.
The market, located on Johnsonville School premises on Ohariu Road, helps support funding for the school and unsold produce is given to Kiwi Community Assistance to support local food banks, school lunch programmes, local families in need and the Women’s Refuge.
Markets in the CBD and those operating in commercial areas don’t require resource consent.