In 2007 the Gore District Council went through a consultative procedure to inform residents of a proposal to redevelop the Arts and Heritage Precinct.
The resulting public submission process, hearing and commissioner determination culminated in the publicly notified and approved release of $1 million over several years, to help acquire and redevelop properties within that precinct.
This involved the jointly funded purchase of the former Smith City building. With the MLT keen to acquire the building that now houses The Thomas Green, they jointly funded the purchase of 7 Norfolk Street so that the incumbent — The Salvation Army — could enjoy a new and greatly expanded family store for the duration of their long-term lease. It was a win-win.
One would have thought that this hiatus would have given Gore District Council time to make financial preparations for an ultimate precinct redevelopment.
It’s been interesting to note the published comments of former council manager Ian Davidson-Watt of ‘‘Gore is not a tourist destination’’ fame, has been openly critical about council spending on arts and heritage but it’s fascinating that several projects scoped or undertaken by council during his tenure weren’t subject to the same consultative procedure.
Matai Ridge, Streets Alive, new council offices, new public library must surely have formed a long procession of unbudgeted multi-million dollar developments at the expense of the ratepayer?
I may be wrong but I don’t remember a formal public submission process for any of these.
It is obvious the council books are now paying the price for some of those decisions.
Is it fair that arts and heritage get criticism for doing what the public told it to do?
A look at the funding graph in the window of the new museum shows $1.2 million from the Department of Internal Affairs, $919,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund, $250,000 from Community Trust South and $200,000 from MLT.
Logically, this level of investment would not have been acquired without the most stringent scoping from the aforementioned as to the value of the planned arts and heritage developments by and for Gore.
I’m sure I am far from alone in believing our town is to be held up as an example of punching well above its weight in this arena in no small part due to exceptional management from the arts and heritage team; something continually reinforced by visitors from across New Zealand and beyond.
S Monaghan, Gore
[Abridged — Ed]
Gore District Council operations general manager Dave Bainbridge-Zafar replied:
We agree that Gore does indeed punch well above its weight in the Arts and Heritage space, and we’re very proud of the exceptional work from our arts and heritage team.
We are also very pleased with the support from the public for arts and heritage, as was clearly evident from the community consultation to purchase the building back in 2007.
There are a number of ways for councils to consult with the community, and while a Special Consultative Procedure such as that carried out in 2007 is one way, many of the projects mentioned above were consulted through either a Long-term Plan or Annual Plan process.
Gore District Council would like to thank all our funding partners and the many individuals who have contributed to the ongoing success of our arts and heritage precinct, as we continue to inspire the future by honouring our past.
