Council consults on land gift to Canterbury Museum

Christchurch City Council will consult residents about gifting land to the Canterbury Museum for a new House Museum.

Canterbury Museum and the Ravenscar Trust today unveiled plans for a new $13 million building to display one of New Zealand’s most significant private collections of art, sculpture, designer furniture and classical antiquities.

The Council has agreed to consult residents, nearby property owners and other interested parties on a proposal to gift the proposed Rolleston Avenue site to Canterbury Museum, which would in turn lease it to the Ravenscar Trust for the House Museum.

Canterbury Museum would own the completed building and display objects from its own extensive design collections in the new facility. It would operate the House Museum jointly with the Trust which will meet the construction costs.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says she is thrilled by the generosity of the Ravenscar Trust in offering to build this for the people of Christchurch.

“The Wakefields lost their home in the earthquakes and are choosing to replace it in a way that will be of great benefit to the city. It is a very special gesture.”

The Council-owned property on the corner of Rolleston Avenue and Worcester Boulevard is valued at $5 million, and is currently used as a public car park. It also has temporary public toilets servicing a nearby tour bus stop.

Under the terms of the proposed gift, the land would return to the Council at no cost if the House Museum did not receive resource consent, or it was not finished within a reasonable time frame.

Consultation on the proposed land gift runs from Thursday 17 September until midday Monday 19 October. Residents can have a say on the Council website, or by filling in a submission form at Council libraries or service centres.

Further information about the House Museum, designed by Andrew Patterson, the architect responsible for the award-winning Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre, is available on the Canterbury Museum website.

ENDS

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