Media release

24th January 2008

100 years of heritage - gone

Yet another building that generations of Wellingtonians have grown up with will be demolished today, said new Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett.

“The former Boys and Girls’ Institute (BGI) and associated buildings on Tasman Street in Mt Cook will be demolished today to make way for a proposed New World supermarket by Foodstuffs,” said Cr. Pannett.

“The fact that the façade of the old BGI will be kept will be cold comfort to Wellingtonians who grew up learning to swim there and using its indoor facilities.

“Foodstuffs have moved to demolish the buildings before resource consent has even been applied for to develop the site. Consent for this particular project is by no means a done deal. There are significant issues relating to traffic and maintenance of character in a heritage area that need to be resolved. Leaving a large site like this empty for up to two years whilst Foodstuffs’ applies for resource consent just does not make sense. It will be a scar on the streetscape,”said Cr Pannett.

“The building was vulnerable as it was not a listed heritage building on the Council’s District Plan. The issue highlights the importance of listing more buildings in Wellington before they become under threat. This is an issue the Council must address,” said Cr Pannett.

ENDS

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