New P&K Supermarket

It’s official!   The Resource Consent stage of the redevelopment of Pain and Kershaw’s buildings has been given the green light by SWDC.

The next step is Building Consent approval and then the radical makeover can begin. The project will not only mitigate the earthquake risk and enhance The Square but also significantly improve the shopping experience for customers 

The original building that houses the supermarket will be strengthened and remodelled.  The Jellico Street buildings will be removed and rebuilt.    Demolition will aim to start in late 2020 and the project will be completed around 2021/2022. 

It is a massive undertaking by the Kershaw family. Martinborough is very fortunate they are so committed to the town and surrounding community and so willing to invest in its future. 

What’s Changing at the Supermarket?

The store has always been one of Martinborough’s most imposing buildings although it lost its grand façade in the 1942 earthquake.   Now it no longer meets current building standards and hard calls had to made on what should be done.  Fortunately the decision has been taken to strengthen and save this heritage building.

“The planned redevelopment will create a much better connection with The Square. The loading bay area will move around the back, the entrances will be repositioned and there will be improved pedestrian flow. The shop itself will include the latest in supermarket design”, says Conor Kershaw who is running the project for the family.    

The carpark is being redesigned and will be slightly larger, with one-way traffic flow and angle parking to make it easier to use.  There will be two EV charging stations.   Trucks will be able to unload safely inside the building away from traffic and pedestrians.

            “A restaurant/bar and a new retail space have been consented for in the area freed up by moving the supermarket away from The Square frontage. We are working with an existing Martinborough business to help bring that corner of The Square to life and make our beautiful town centre even more appealing.”

“We were determined to maintain the heritage aspects of the building during the strengthening process and have been working with specialist architects to do this” 

The store will remain part of the Four Square group.  “We’d love to bring a New World to Martinborough but the population here doesn’t meet the threshold set by Foodstuffs yet.   We’ll continue our Price Match programme to keep pricing below our competition wherever we can.  The redesign of the store means we will be able to able to offer the best range in South Wairarapa”.

What’s Happening to The Jellicoe Street Buildings?

The buildings along Jellicoe Street are also an earthquake risk. The cost of strengthening and the likely value of the buildings after doing so made an upgrade uneconomic.  Instead they will be removed and replaced with a new building.  

The physical and social histories of these buildings have been documented and will be archived with Heritage New Zealand so their stories are never lost.

What about Scotty and the General Store? “We’ve been working with Scotty for about four years to find a solution to ensure the town retains an independent butcher. We looked at incorporating Scotty into the supermarket, or adjacent to it but neither of these were suitable.   Scotty’s Meats is now shifting to a purpose-built site on the other side of The Square.”

The General Store will move out to a temporary site in Kitchener Street.  When the development is complete it will move back into retail space in the supermarket building.

The Construction Process

“We’ve partnered with Holmes Construction from Greytown in a design and build process and we’re committed to using local trades wherever possible.” 

“We plan to keep the supermarket open right through the construction period and have staged the project to make sure there’s minimum disruption for customers.”  

Here’s how it will work.

Stage I:  The buildings from the P&K General Store down to the old pharmacy (14-20 Jellicoe Street) will be demolished and replaced with a new building.

When the new building is ready the supermarket will move there, operating on a reduced scale.

Stage II:  The existing supermarket building will be strengthened to a minimum of 75% of the National Building Standard.   The old and new buildings will be joined back together and the supermarket expanded back into the original building. Once complete the supermarket will effectively double in size. 

Conor didn’t mention a Stage III but a good guess is that it will be the celebrations, in a couple of years’ time,  when this major project is finally completed –  in time for the 150th anniversary of the business.    That day will represent an important milestone in the history of the town, and a new chapter in the Kershaw family’s long history in the South Wairarapa.

Chris Cassels

Highlight “We were determined to maintain the heritage aspects of the building during the strengthening process and have been working with specialist architects to do this” 

Photo with