Thursday, 5 June 2025

Poll: What should happen to the old hospital site?

    1. Canterbury
    2. Christchurch

    There are no plans in place for the future of the derelict site occupied by The Princess Margaret Hospital.

    The hospital opened in Cashmere at the foot of the Port Hills in 1959.

    But it was badly damaged in the February 22, 2011, earthquake and its services slowly dwindled.

    The Princess Margaret Hospital. Photo: File image
    The Princess Margaret Hospital. Photo: File image
    It has now been about five months since the last patients were seen at the hospital and a decision on the future of the site, which has a city council rating value of $17 million, is yet to be made.

    Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora told Stuff any decisions on the hospital’s future would be made “in due course”.

    Banks Peninsula MP Vanessa Weenink told Stuff there are “all sorts of ideas floating around” for the site’s future.

    She said some people want it turned into apartment blocks, while others want it kept as a health facility.

    Weenink said some people have even suggested turning it into a senior school for nearby Cashmere High.

    Last week’s results:

    Was the Government right to ban greyhound racing?
    Yes: 27%
    No: 73%