NEWS
As was obvious when the Christchurch Convention Centre was under construction some 15 years ago, excavations for foundations went down into groundwater which is just a metre below the surface, and a mass of totara stumps were exposed across the site. The Council official refused to rescue and display a stump as they were considered such a common feature. However few people knew that it had been forested land. The Convention Centre is now under demolition, and it’s coming down fast. Most has already been dropped, but the floor has not yet been excavated. Might we again see the stumps beneath amidst the groundwater?

It is so very sad to see the demolition sites being required to be covered with compacted gravels. This is not a good way to treat sites that don’t naturally have gravels and where the rebuild or temporary development might potentially include restored natural aspects – wetland swales, plantings and lawn. Some of us want to respect the character of this soft land in designing the more responsive re-build. The crude levelling and thick rolled gravel layer is a simplistic practice that should be reconsidered for these lands.

Di Lucas
Lucas Associates
Peterborough Village

2 April 2012

www.lucas-associates.co.nz

www.peterboroughvillage.org.nz

ENDS

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