Wellington's Golden Mile project killed, council opts for cheaper 'tin mile' plan

Wellington city councillors have voted to kill the Golden Mile in its current form, instead pursuing a scaled-down version dubbed a “tin mile”.

It comes after a review found further budget blowouts are likely for the once-ambitious revitalisation project.

Officials will instead look into $20-$40 million of transport improvements and urban regeneration upgrades for Courtenay Pl, such as replacing paving, improving lighting and landscaping changes.

At a meeting of the city strategy and delivery committee, councillors voted 13 to 3 to scrap the previous plans.

A majority of councillors agreed work needs to be done on the “shabby” Courtenay Pl, but the beleaguered project had become unaffordable.

Mayor Andrew Little said the central city is the economic engine and heart of the city, and its urban landscape must be attractive, safe, and allow people to move around.

He described the current state of Courtenay Pl as “variously shabby, unappealing, unsafe”, and does more to drive people away from the area than invite them in.

“We need an element of urban renewal and a sense of a refreshed public realm, because if we don’t we will fail as a city.”

“But we are under financial constraints” he said, and “must spend less“.

Wellington City Council released its new design for the Golden Mile in 2025. Image / WCC

The project, initially forecast at $78m, grew to $139m in 2024, paid 49% by council, and 51% by NZTA.

It sought to revitalise the capital’s nightlife and hospitality strip by banning private vehicles during daytime, building a cycleway running down one side of the street, widened footpaths, new public seating and outdoor dining spaces.

Work began in April 2025 for the first phase of the project, aligning an intersection at one end of Courtenay Pl on Kent and Cambridge Terraces, which has since been completed.

But with the adjoining works not going ahead, $1.5m may have to be spent to make that intersection safe again.

Contracts for the main portion of work down Courtenay Pl were never signed despite efforts.

The council hopes to retain co-funding from NZTA for new transport works, but Green councillor Rebecca Matthews believed it would be at risk.

The Golden Mile project became the subject of strong public debate, with a protest group rallying in 2024 against the plans. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Matthews and Green councillors Laurie Foon and Geordie Rogers were the only ones to vote against de-scoping the project.

“Wellington has been let down by some of its elected members and by this organisation”, Matthews said, blasting what she called “predatory delays leading to constant reviews and new business cases”.

“I am ashamed to say, even Invercargill has done more than us in pedestrianising its streets,” she said.

Rogers said continual delays left Wellingtonians fatigued and feeling that better things weren’t possible for the city.

He said he hoped the council was able to deliver improvements to the area, and didn’t “just start another 10-year cycle failing to deliver a tin mile when we could have had a golden one”.

The Golden Mile plan emerged from the now-killed Let's get Wellington Moving plan, which proposed mass transit in the capital. Photo / Supplied

Labour councillor Sam O’Brien said a lick of paint and new pavers alone would not improve the area, calling for further pedestrianisation of the space.

Independent councillor Diane Calvert said the project was well-intentioned, but poorly executed.

She described it as “too expensive, too complicated, [and] too difficult to deliver”.

Nicola Young, the longest-serving Wellington City Councillor, said she had “endured this project from the start”, and as someone who lived nearby, she was “delighted we finally have a sensible proposal”.

Council officials will report back to the committee with a business case for the cheaper improvements by the end of the year.

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.