Where are the food carts?

I still don't get why there aren't more food carts on Wellington's waterfront. On a good sunny day, you might find, along a stretch of gorgeous waterfront more than two kilometres long, all of it close to downtown, 2-3 food carts. 

Meanwhile, downtown Christchurch restaurants are worried about the Arts Centre's plan to host around 30 carts not just on weekends: every day. They point to the rates bills they pay and consenting hassles they deal with that food carts avoid; they want Council to cut its subsidy to the Arts Centre if it doesn't abandon its food trucks plan. 

My column for this week's Post, Christchurch Press, Waikato Times etc:

Assessing council rates on land value alone, while abolishing the punitive ratings differential assessed on businesses, would be a better way of levelling that part of the playing field. The piece of land would pay the same amount in rates regardless of whether a restaurant, a shop, or some carts sat on it.

Similarly, radically easing consenting burdens would level the playing field while improving outcomes more generally. This week, results from the UK Growth Survey were released. Forty-four top UK economists were asked what their government should do to pursue growth. They overwhelmingly pointed to planning reform. We have the same problem.

Building a restaurant should be a simple by-right activity.

And letting food carts serve beer would remove a distortion that currently works in restaurants’ favour.

Christchurch council should only reduce the subsidy it provides to the Arts Centre to the extent that having food carts reduces the value of the public amenity that the centre provides. And really, food carts seem more likely to improve that amenity than impede it.

Christchurch’s problem then brings us back to Wellington’s puzzle. Food carts do not have to deal with resource and building consents, though they do need a food registration certificate. They enjoy a ratings advantage, and Wellington’s business ratings differential is even worse than Christchurch’s. And everywhere in Wellington’s downtown is a short walk from the waterfront. Christchurch is more dispersed.

So, on a good day, to steal a line from an old Australian tourism commercial, where the hell are the waterfront food carts?

Better to level playing fields by removing shackles rather than by adding them. But if food carts do have such an advantage, why are there so few on Wellington's waterfront? 

An ungated version of the column will eventually turn up here.