Nick Leggett’s election promise to open up Point Halswell Battery and Fort Ballance on the Miramar Peninsula to Wellington residents and visitors.

Independent Mayoral candidate Nick Leggett has promised he’ll work to secure public ownership and access to this historic site, if elected Mayor of Wellington. Currently, Fort Ballance, which is made up of 80 hectares of land, is sitting derelict with no public access allowed. By opening the site, Leggett says Wellingtonian’s and visitors will be able to take advantage of the land - for both recreational and historical purposes.

The land is owned by Ministry of Defence and yet there continues to be ongoing discussion and indecision about what to do with the land. Nick Leggett is determined to work with government and come to an arrangement to buy the land off Defence.

Check out this video Nick Leggett has just released publicly which explains more::

https://www.facebook.com/nickleggettmayor/videos/508237469375700/

Background on Fort Ballance

• Fort Ballance was a coastal artillery battery on Point Gordon on Wellington's Miramar Peninsula. Built in 1885 following fears of an impending war with Russia, Fort Ballance is one of the best preserved of a string of nineteenth century coastal defences constructed to protect New Zealand from a naval attack. Used by the military over a period of 60 years (1885-1945), the 1880s layout of Fort Ballance is largely unaltered and a good impression of the original nineteenth century fort remains. The fort is a permanent reminder of the technology used in the coastal defence network of the 1880s and it is an early example of the use of concrete as a building material.

• Part of the site is listed under the Historic Place Category 1. Fort Ballance currently is private land with no public access allowed.

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