The proposal to turn downtown Mount Maunganui's Phoenix carpark into an urban space is a hit with the public, judging by the numbers that turned out for a public consultation session.

Mount Maunganui-Papamoa councillors Clayton Mitchell and Steve Morris and councillor Gail McIntosh hosted a public information and consultation session at the carpark in downtown the Mount on Wednesday night to gauge the public's thoughts on the space.

Public opinion from the first information session indicates support for an urban space.

All three were stretched to their limits to keep up with demand and they are looking for more councillors to be on hand for the next event on Sunday, says Clayton.

'We were quite overwhelmed and surprised how many people came to put in submissions and give us a few of their ideas, most of which were positive.

'There was a lot of people showed up. We only had three of us there yesterday; myself Steve Morris and Gail McIntosh, and I think we need to have more representation. I think people want to talk to the people who are going to be making the decisions in future. It was certainly well received.”

While a large majority support the idea of the Phoenix carpark being developed into some kind of urban space, the big issue is car parking during the summer peak – the only time of year when the carpark is full.

'For the rest of the year it's pretty much empty that car park, about 10-20 per cent occupancy,” says Clayton.

'Quite a few of the retailers came in and spoke and their biggest concern is when it is busy, they want car parking spaces. So we have got to do a bit of work as a council if we want to overcome that. If it is the only issue being raised then we can make sure we can resolve that as easily quickly and quietly as possible.”

With car parking removed as an issue, the public want a variety of things; a raised area/stage area, green space, paving, fountains, comfortable seating, somewhere for mothers to breastfeed babies, a fountain for children to play and better toilets.

'There were just some really neat cohesive ideas,” says Clayton.

'Not a lot of sketches but just a lot of words about what people want to see in that area.

'We had someone say we should have a Steinlager fountain. That raised a few eyebrows.”

TCC is currently gathering public opinions and ideas about what to do with the space before creating a plan to go out for public consultation. People who submit ideas will go in the draw to win one of five $100 Mount Mainstreet vouchers.

Councilliors and staff are hosting three public consultation sessions, with the next two at these times:

Sunday, February 16, 2014, 9am - 1pm Sunday, March 2, 2014, 1pm - 5pm

For more information on the carpark and urban spaces click here.