How an expanded Westfield Riccarton mall would appear, looking southeast across on Rotherham St.

The South Island's largest shopping mall, Westfield Riccarton, has plans to get even bigger.

The mall's majority owner, Westfield-controlled company Scentre, announced this month it would spend half a billion dollars making over three Auckland malls but would not revamp Riccarton.

However, Christchurch City Council documents shows Scentre already has permission for a big expansion at Riccarton.

SUPPLIED Access to mall car parks would be reconfigured.

The plan would add almost another hectare of shops and hospitality outlets, plus more car parks at the mall's eastern end – the block bordered by Clarence, Rotherham and Dilworth streets.



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The new facilities would be created by extending up the mall's existing buildings in the block.

Westfield Riccarton already has 5.5 hectares of tenant space, including almost 200 shops, cinema seating for nearly 2000 movie-goers, and 2400 car spaces.

SUPPLIED From Rotherham St looking north.

But the expansion may still be a few years off.

Scentre spokeswoman Deb McGhie said there was no date for the proposal, which had been put together to future-proof the mall. Despite having resource consent it might not even go ahead in its approved form or at all, she said.

"We're not in a pre-development phase or anything, this is part of the master-planning we are doing all the time.

SUPPLIED The project would include adding more shops, hospitality outlets and parking above existing buildings.

We are constantly looking at all our properties to improve them and meet market demands."

The consent for the project expires in 2019. Scentre had planned to object to this deadline to give it more time to consider the effects of Christchurch's upcoming new district plan, but has withdrawn that objection.

Westfield Riccarton has already undergone several major expansions, but has had no major additions since the earthquakes. It notches up 16 million customer visits a year, and at peak pre-Christmas times attracts over 60,000 shoppers a day.

The latest expansion plan involves enclosing an upper level of the block's car parking building to create 8000 square metres of new shops, and extending and enclosing the airbridge linking them to the main mall area.

Outdoor first floor hospitality outlets would also be created in this area.

Extra car parking would be added by putting an extra level on top of the building, and above the shops and restaurants facing Rotherham St.

Building facades would also be altered, parking ramps reconfigured, car park entrances opened onto Dilworth St, and more advertising signs and trees added.

Australian-owned Westfield has been concentrating its recent New Zealand development mainly on revamping its Auckland malls, after selling a minority share of properties including Riccarton to raise the funds.

Other Christchurch malls with expansion plans include Eastgate, which wants to build over its car park, and The Palms which wants to rezone nearby land it already owns.