The peaceful garden space of St Paul’s Cathedral would be "seriously degraded" by a 17-storey hotel overlooking Dunedin’s Octagon, a hearing has been told.
The concern was raised by David Tucker, the keeper of the fabric at St Paul’s, as a resource consent hearing to decide the hotel’s fate entered its fourth day yesterday.
Mr Tucker told the hearing the hotel’s size would "entirely block" sun from reaching the north side of St Paul’s, throwing the cathedral’s memorial garden into shadow for about six months of the year.
The garden contained the ashes of about 100 people, and while "they won’t be worried about shading", it would matter to the families who visited them and the general public using the garden, he said.
"The imposition of a very tall, bulky building ... will seriously degrade the ambience of the entire area," he said.
The northwest corner of Moray Pl would also become icy in winter, even as it became busier from hotel traffic, he predicted.
The result was likely to be a "significant traffic problem", he said.
Artist and designer Stuart Griffiths also criticised the "monstrous" building yesterday, saying it would be "an affront" to property owners who stuck to planning rules, and an "aggressive assault" on neighbours.
Assurances of a "tall, elegant tower" from architect Thom Craig were "cynical gestures"designed to defend ‘‘a glass box’’ that was from ‘‘a time gone by’’, he said.
Clinical psychologist Mike Parkes urged the panel to take a long-term view of the city’s interests by protecting its brand.That brand was built on heritage buildings, and would be damaged by the sheer size of the "dull and boring" hotel, he said.
The hotel’s footprint would be similar to Forsyth Barr Stadium, but, at 14 storeys above ground, would be five storeys higher than the stadium, he said.
City Rise Up co-founder Meg Davidson said the hotel was designed for "mass tourism" but would overwhelm its surroundings and bring only "low-paid, unskilled, itinerant work" to the city.
Heritage advocate Elizabeth Kerr said she was not against tall modern towers, and liked the juxtaposition of old and new buildings — but not in this case.
"I don’t like the height because it’s not a good enough building design," she said.
However, other submitters leapt to the defence of the project, including Otago Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls, whose organisation had 1100 members.
She said the project was needed as Dunedin struggled to meet its economic development goal of creating 10,000 new jobs by 2023.
In the past three years, 1800 jobs had been created, but hundreds would be lost when the Cadbury chocolate factory closed and the University of Otago shed staff, she said.
The city had also slipped from the fourth largest in New Zealand to the sixth in recent years, she said.
Despite that, tourism was going "incredibly well" in New Zealand, and Dunedin was "ideally situated" as a tourist destination, but needed a five-star hotel, she said.
The development would create jobs, boost the city’s events, conference, construction, hospitality and retail sectors, and help promote the city overseas, she said.
Ratepayers would also benefit, as the $135,000 a year return to the council from the existing car park would increase to about $650,000 a year from rates paid by the hotel, she said.
Dunedin businessman Michael Nidd defended the hotel’s design and location, and stressed it would be "critically" important "in a city that’s failing".
He acknowledged concerns about shading and loss of views, but insisted they were "seriously outweighed by the critical need for this venture and the economic benefits it will bring to the city".
Les Wilson, who runs guided tours in Dunedin, agreed it would be an integral part of the city’s tourist infrastructure. It was essential given the decline of manufacturing in Dunedin, which had cost "thousands" of jobs since the 1980s, he said.
"Dunedin cannot sustain these types of industries, but we can sustain tourism," he told the panel.
"We need to work to our strengths. Don’t screw this one up."
