The proposed New World supermarket at Three Brothers Corner in Richmond has been put on hold, with the date for its construction “still to be determined”.
Previously, the company said the new supermarket would be completed by 2025, but it no longer has a start date for construction.
General manager retail and property for Foodstuffs South Island, Tim Donaldson, says the proposed New World supermarket has been delayed so the company can focus on two key projects. One of those projects is the rebuild of New World Stoke and the other is the refurbishment of Pak’nSave Richmond.
“The date for the start of construction of New World Richmond is still to be determined.” The company has owned the site on the corner of Bateup Rd and Gladstone Rd since 2007 and revealed its plans for a New World supermarket six years later. In 2014 the Tasman District Council approved the rezoning of the 1.64 hectares of land from residential to commercial and in 2016 granted consent for a 4,000 square metre supermarket and two retail tenancies.
However, Foodstuffs South Island delayed the development timetable for the supermarket due to the economic conditions associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The consent expired in March 2023, which meant the consent needed to be activated to retain it.
The site’s tenant, Bay Landscapes and Garden Centre, packed up and moved to a new location in February last year after leasing the site on a month-to-month basis for 15 years.
That enabled Foodstuffs to move in and carry out consent work.
Last year, the company said construction of the new supermarket was expected to begin this year and be completed in 2025. Pak’nSave Richmond will undergo refurbishment as part of a multi-millon-dollar redevelopment of the Richmond Mall.
While plans are yet to be finalised, the project, labelled Richmond Mall Reimagined by property owners Tinline Property, began construction last month on Stage One which will see the reconfiguration of the former Fresh Choice store.
Expected to open in mid-2025, the first stage will see a mix of new and existing retailers.
At time of print, Foodstuffs had not responded to a query as to what would happen with the Gladstone Rd site in the meantime.
