Dunedin City councillors are set to decide the fate of the Moller Park Memorial Arch at Ravensbourne at a meeting next week after 34 of 53 submitters called for it to be demolished and replaced with a new memorial.
The arch was built in 1937 to recognise the achievements of West Harbour mayor, councillor and Otago Harbour Board member Hagbarth Ernest Moller, but since then locals have become concerned it is a safety hazard for people leaving Moller Park on to State Highway 88.
Others have questioned the aesthetic value of the arch.
Two members of the Moller family submitted as part of the process and both supported demolishing the memorial and replacing it.
Staff recommended councillors follow the will of the majority of submitters and demolish the arch.
This would address visibility issues associated with the arch.
Adjacent Ravensdown Works had offered to pay the estimated $25,468 it would cost to demolish and make good the site.
The only disadvantage listed in the report was "there would no longer be a memorial arch sited along Ravensbourne Rd''.
Other options included keeping the arch where it was or demolishing the arch and not replacing it.
If the community and environment committee approved the recommended option, a design panel would be established to start site selection and design work for the new memorial.
