They have been sent packing but the stall holders want their Cargo Shed back. At least until the end of the cruise liner season in April.

'It's not what the Tauranga City Council did, it's how it went about it” says Brenda Butler, former manager of the arts collective at the Cargo Shed on Dive Crescent.

There may be a solution for this arts collective, but not immediately, not in time or a busy summer's trading, but possibly after the middle of next year when the long term future of the shed considered.

As a permanent stallholder at the Cargo Shed arts market for 10 years she says she wants Tauranga to know why the arts markets closed. More importantly she wants to make a pitch to have it re-opened.

That's not going to happen though, not immediately, not in time for the arrival of the cruise ships, not in time for the tourists with money to spend and no arts market to spend it on.

'We no sooner signed a new monthly instead of yearly lease than we were evicted” says Brenda. The painters, photographers, wood turners and carvers, 40 artisans in all, were out, homeless.

Brenda says the arts market spent $20,000 setting up the Cargo Shed. 'And we paid rent and 10 percent of profits back into council coffers. We paid rates, power, water, insurance, security, cleaning and maintenance.”

The market according to Brenda was completely self sufficient. 'No council nor ratepayer input.”

The root of the problem, it seems, is a dodgy seawall. 'We were told the wall alongside us was a category 5 danger, the worst. But none of our neighbours on the waterfront seem to be affected.”

The work is scheduled for this month and will be concluded by mid-2017, after the cruise ships have gone for the season. 'The work needs to be completed as soon as possible and cannot be delayed,” says Aimee Driscoll, Tauranga City Council communications manager.

Last week the council advertised for tenders for construction of a rock wall for erosion protection in front of the cargo shed and along Dive Crescent. And to ensure any artwork or property stored isn't damaged by the proposed works the council asked tenants to vacate.

'We have worked hard to minimise disruption,” says Aimee Driscoll. ”However the works may impact use and access to the Cargo Shed,”

'We have been advertising all winter, we are coming up to our busy time” says Brenda Butler. 'Why couldn't the council wait until April when the ships stop? Why couldn't they do the work during winter?”

Just this week a bus tour operator telephone Brenda wanting to know where they would be operating from. 'They are setting up tours now.”

The council did offer a carrot. The market could come back to the Cargo Shed but the goalposts had moved.

'Council does wish to offer tenants the ability to use the Cargo Shed between 9am and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday” said a council letter to stallholders. That's when there would be no work on the seawall. 'This will be on a week by week basis charged at $37.90 + GST per hour.” And they would have to pack in and out of the venue each weekend.

'Impossible. Unworkable,” says Brenda. 'If you have been to the market you would understand that is simply impractical.”

And the council indicated 'it may enable other entities …to use the premises during the time that construction works are being undertaken…”

So the arts market didn't have guaranteed on going tenure, not on the basis they wanted.

'All this has happened right at the summer tour season and we are very unhappy,” says Brenda. 'We have been a draw card for local and international tourists because of our New Zealand produced goods. It's a sad loss for tourism in this town.”

Tauranga City Council also offered the market a vacant shop in Willow Street at the same rent as their old lease and $15,000 worth of advertising.

'A lot of the charm and lure of the Art Market was its appearance and location” says Brenda. 'We didn't believe an empty shop beside a nightclub with no parking would have quite the same appeal for tourists. Can you imagine the street mess we would have to clean up every morning?

There is also an issue of ownership. No-one has title to the land the Cargo Shed sits on. The council and the Otamataha Trust plan to become joint owners and that needs to be ticked off by Government.

Once that's sorted the council and the trust could look at long term options for the Cargo Shed and the land around it …including the proposed Fisherman's Wharf proposal.

The Tauranga City Council says once the work is completed, the long term future of the Cargo Shed will be considered. But that could be with or without the arts market.