Residents and retailers of the eastern suburb have made several desperate calls to the Christchurch City Council asking for help to bring back the suburb's commercial core.
A Facebook post by the New Brighton Residents Association claimed businesses were losing “hundreds of thousands” of potential dollars per year to Woolston, Linwood, Shirley, and even Parklands because residents weren’t inclined to shop locally.
A spokesperson for the New Brighton Residents Association, Brian Donovan, said the council needed to prioritise the mall regeneration by directly funding local groups of skilled individuals and investors who live in, and have a link to, the area.
"The playground and hot pools will attract more people who will see the state of the mall and reinforce the negative view of New Brighton to outsiders."
Donovan said without a functioning modern mall, there would be no reason for visitors to cross the road.
The residents association has called for the dissolution of Development Christchurch Limited or at least the removal of the New Brighton Mall from its core mission.
DCL was created to contribute to the regeneration of Christchurch and works as an independent advisor to the council.
Coastal-Burwood Community Board member, Kelly Barber, said although he could understand New Brighton residents had been waiting a long time to see a change in the area, they could be waiting longer without DCL's involvement.
"It may look like there is still plenty to do across the road in the mall but...transformations involving multiple commercial interests are frequently negotiated over a long period of time.
"Having an entity like DCL working to help facilitate and bring parties and interests together is sometimes just what is required to make the difference,” Barber said.