History
Outer Limits Limited purchased the 10ha Blackmore property, located in Springlands, Blenheim in October 2004. After consultation with Council, they followed up the initial purchase by adding a further 7.7ha in purchasing the neighbouring Sandall block in January 2006.
With a vision to develop a leading edge Large Format Retail (LFR) Business Park, owners John Marris and Phil Robinson started on their Westwood journey.
John and Phil saw that LFR was becoming a growing national trend, that refers to national retail chains that have developed large stores specialising in a wide selection of merchandise in a particular product range. They saw the potential that a LFR site would benefit Marlborough, bringing new stores to Blenheim that simply would not physically fit into the CBD, and providing Marlburians with a convenient shopping experience that would complement the activities of Blenheim’s CBD.
By bringing greater choice to Blenheim, Westwood will reduce the need for shopping trips out of town. This will help to retain employment opportunities in Marlborough and directly reduce the cost of living locally.
It was a long road of consultation and consents, but Westwood Business Park finally opened with its first store in April 2012, when Bunnings Warehouse opened.
Foodstuffs SI Ltd then bought and developed their own site, opening Pak’n Save Blenheim in March 2013.
John, being very hands-on, worked tirelessly on developing all of the landscaping. Undertaking much of the planting and installation of the irrigation himself.
Sadly John passed away in January 2014, so did not get to see his vision of the development achieve its full potential.
Farmlands opened mid 2015, adding a fresh new rural and bulk goods store, and rural real estate office with ample parking. Both rural and urban customers enjoy shopping at the Farmlands store.
PGG Wrightson opened mid 2016, adding more choice for rural goods, together with rural real estate. Customers appreciate the close proximity of the rural stores, and being able to park the farm ute with the dogs on the back right there.
Kmart Complex, incorporating a second 800m2 tenancy, and a café. Kmart opened April 2019, followed shortly after by the café. Marlborough customers were delighted to have this smart new building right on their door step.
The original Cherry trees were maintained and harvested until no-longer needed, with blocks removed as the development grew. The last block was removed after the 2018 harvest.
Purchase of the old Talley’s Coolstore building in 2017 provided the access through to Rene Street. Development of this is taking place during 2020/2021.
Current Status
The road access extending Westwood Ave from SH6 through to Rene Street is open and being used from May 2021. It’s a wonderful addition in providing further access options to Old Renwick Road.
The sections around the road extension have been sold, and we look forward to the newest part of the Business Park taking shape in this Light Industrial zoned section.
A footbridge linking Blackmore Place residential development to Westwood Business Park, has been completed for ease of locals accessing the Business Park.
Future Plans
The front green will make way for a ‘neighbourhood shopping’ complex, made up of smaller retail spaces and incorporating professional office space above.
It is envisioned that some sort of hospitality business will be incorporated into this development.
