Land use consent has been granted for Rakaia’s Four Square to operate in the former Salmon Tales building.
The Ashburton District Council granted the consent to Foodstuffs South Island Properties Ltd on August 14.
Now the supermarket is aiming for a pre-Christmas opening in the landmark building.
Senior planner Nicholas Law set out a range of conditions in the decision.
They included that the supermarket car park be made freely available to the public for visitors to the wider park area where the town’s giant salmon is, and public toilets.
‘‘No signage shall be permitted denoting ‘Customer Only Parking’ or restrictions to that effect,’’ Law said.
Other conditions include: hours of operation will be limited to 7am to 10pm daily; fixed exterior lighting shall be directed away from adjacent properties, roads and railways; signage shall be maintained in good repair; plants and landscaping shall be maintained as per approved site plans; delivery trucks will minimise noise in the night-time period in relation to idling and reversing audible warning devices.
Foodstuffs bought the building late last year.
Tenants Salmon Tales Cafe and Rakaia Country Arts Co Op Gift Shop both closed, while Dairy Vets Rakaia moved in March.
Work onsite to date has included infilling an onsite feature pond and removing a deck area, where carparking areas are to be installed.
Foodstuffs welcomed the consent approval.
‘‘It paves the way for a new generation Four Square in Rakaia, much like the new store in Murchison. This is an exciting step forward in bringing a new shopping experience to the local community,’’ a spokesperson said.
‘‘We’re aiming for a pre-Christmas opening but there’s still a lot of work ahead.’’
