A Costco store near Christchurch Airport would bring welcome competition and cheaper prices to the city, as long as traffic is kept off local streets, Waimairi ward councillor Sam MacDonald says.

The United States retail giant is seeking government fast-track approval to build its first South Island store on vacant land between Memorial Avenue and Avonhead Road.

Christchurch City Council has been asked by the Government to give feedback on the fast-track application.

“If we get more competition into the supermarkets, we can help facilitate some sensible traffic management around the community, so that people aren’t impacted, and then people are getting cheaper prices for everyday needs. That just seems like a win-win to me,” MacDonald told chrislynchmedia.com.

The 17.4 hectare site, on the right as drivers leave the airport along Memorial Avenue, has sat empty for decades.

Property investor and vehicle dealership owner Bruce Miles reportedly bought it for more than $30 million in 2020.

MacDonald said his main concern was making sure residents of Avonhead, Ilam and Burnside were not hit by extra traffic.

He believed that could be managed. Memorial Avenue already carried two lanes of traffic in each direction, and he had seen plans for an earlier development on the site that included traffic lights.

“If traffic can funnel through that way and then out onto the motorway or back into town, local residents will be protected as well.”

The council’s role was limited to providing feedback, and the decision rested with the Government, MacDonald said.

“We should ultimately welcome investment into Christchurch, and if there’s things the council can do to make that work, then we should do it.”

Costco is a members-only warehouse retailer selling groceries, electronics, appliances and household goods in bulk. Membership costs $60 a year.

It opened its only New Zealand store in west Auckland in 2022 and has agreed to buy land at Drury, in south Auckland, for a second store.

A Christchurch Costco has been talked about for years. In 2023, the company’s managing director Patrick Noone said it was considering a few Christchurch sites but had not confirmed one.

Last year, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis brought supermarkets into the fast-track consenting regime, in the hope of encouraging Costco to expand beyond Auckland.

MacDonald has never shopped at Costco, but said he would be among the first to sign up if a Christchurch store went ahead.