A resource consent hearing took place in Invercargill yesterday in front of commissioner Paula Costello.
The Bluff Oyster and Food Festival Charitable Trust had applied — for a second time — for a resource consent to demolish the hotel.
The one-day festival had been on the site since 2014 but was canned this year because of risks associated with the safety of the hotel. The trust owns the hotel.
The Invercargill City Council had recommended consent be turned down because of significant adverse heritage effects. But in its recommending report it said if changes were made around design and community benefits to compensate for the loss of heritage values it was possible to grant consent.
Council heritage and urban design planner Shannon Baxter said the landscape plans of the council and the trust were not poles apart.
But she had concerns about the site and how it could be slightly softened with more trees and plants put in the ground. She also said a 3m-high barrier around the site did not align with the wish of the trust for the site to be more accessible.
Council consultant planner Katrina Ellis also said the parties were not miles apart and the differences were relatively minor.
This was the second time a resource consent had been applied for to demolish the building and she did not want to go through it again, she said.
But in terms of heritage demolition, the council was not asking for a large response.
The council had proposed conditions such as significant features and historic building materials be carefully removed and secured. It also wanted a detailed building recording of the hotel and an oral history of the hotel.
She said the trust’s landscape plan was too conceptual and the council supported an easement to secure access to the site. A bond was also warranted and it was a normal way to operate if the council had to do work to complete the project.
Trust counsel Simon Pierce said in his right of reply the parties may not be that far apart but it was hard to see how close they could get if the council still considered the demolition plan as having an adverse effect.
He questioned the justification of a bond and whether it was needed instead of consent conditions. The concept plan had key principles which the trust stood by.
Time was of the essence as the building had to be knocked over for next year’s festival in May to go ahead.
Trust chairman John Edminstin said the festival was growing rapidly. In 2022, 60% of the tickets for the festival were sold in an hour and a quarter and sold out within two days. It was something Bluff was extremely proud of.
More space was needed for the festival and an increase on the current 18 stalls. It was a one-day festival and a previous attempt at going to two days had turned into a nightmare.
Ms Costello said her decision would be released within the next 15 working days.
Call for common sense
Accustaions of a lack of common sense and hiding behind a bureaucratic facade were leveled at those opposing the demolition of the Club Hotel.
Bluff Hill Motopohue Environment Trust trustee David Swann gave a passionate submission to yesterday’s resource consent hearing outlining why the Club Hotel needed to be demolished.
The hotel had to come down for the Bluff Oyster Festival to continue, he said.
Mr Swann posed the question of what would happen if the building collapsed and killed five people, including three tourists.
The story would go across the world and the festival trustees, as the building owners, would have to answer questions. Yet they had wanted to demolish the building.
The trust was not opposing the demolition but responsibility should be on the Invercargill City Council, he said .
On one hand, the council was demanding the destruction of this building, yet on the other it was opposing it.
He said it was a lack of common sense and people were hiding behind a "I’m just doing my job" approach around the fate of the building. He described it as a bureaucratic facade.
Health and safety should trump resource consent concerns and people in Bluff did not need to be told what to do with the building. It should be demolished as soon as possible.
Council consultant planner Katrina Ellis said the council was fully aware of health and safety. It was working within the constraints of the Resource Management Act and the council had been clear in what was acceptable.
She said emergency works was not a free pass to demolition.
