Dunedin should have a cricket field big enough to host major
tests from next year, after a compromise was hammered out
between the Dunedin City Council and the New Zealand Historic
Places Trust.
• Big is good - Dykes
The compromise means the trust will support the council's
resource consent application to demolish part of the
protected historic former art gallery at Logan Park, as long
as the council places a binding covenant on its title
ensuring the remainder of the building stays put.
The $5 million project, with resource consent to be lodged
next week, would allow the University Oval to be expanded to
allow for an outfield about the size of Wellington's Basin
Reserve.
The agreement would also mean the Sargood Wing, at the
Caledonian end of the building, now the home of the New
Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island), would make way for
an outdoor seating area.
The academy and the Highlanders rugby team, which also uses
the building, are expected to move, with the Forsyth Barr
Stadium being proposed as their new base.
While the organisations involved lauded the plan as the best
way forward, Dunedin historian Peter Entwisle said yesterday
it was "remarkable" the trust had agreed to the partial
demolition of a category 1 historic building.
"It's like saying the Great Pyramid of Giza is an important
building, but we don't need one corner."
The consent application follows extensive negotiations
between the council and the trust.
The Sargood Bequest and descendants of the Sargood family
have also backed the plan.
The former art gallery was built for the 1925 New Zealand and
South Seas International Exhibition, and is thought to be the
only surviving in-situ building from any of the exhibitions
in New Zealand.
It is a registered historic building, and recognised on the
council's district plan.
Two of the building's bays were removed in 2001 to expand the
University Oval.
The plan to apply for resource consent was announced at a
press conference yesterday, presented by representatives of
both the council and the trust.
Cr Paul Hudson said that following a "long, slow, drawn out
process", the historic places trust supported the proposal.
Trust Otago-Southland area manager Owen Graham said the loss
of any part of the building was an important matter for the
trust, but so was ensuring options for its survival and
ongoing use.
"While the full retention of this iconic Dunedin landmark
would have been the ideal outcome, this is a practical and
pragmatic decision made with the council that opens the way
for the continued use of the building as part of the wider
community," he said.
The Sargood Wing, a later addition, would be mostly
demolished, with some or all of the walls kept to provide a
sheltered area that could be used for events associated with
cricket, or for weddings and other events.
A conservation architect said saving the original building
was more important than retaining the Sargood Wing, council
community life general manager Graeme Hall said.
A decision on the consent was expected in August, with
demolition next year.
The $5 million for the project is allowed for in the annual
plan.
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