The fate of the planned inner city development of the former Tauranga Electric Power Board building is set to be debated in a council meeting tomorrow.
The $5million building on the corner of Spring and Durham Street was purchased in 2010 by Barrie Harnett with the intention of demolishing it and building an office and retail development.
A planned office and retail development for the former Tauranga Electric Power Board building will be debated.
This development is now in jeopardy as planners at Tauranga City Council are stating it is not a permitted activity, and the Historic Places Trust has also stepped in to protect the building.
A hearing is set down for tomorrow to argue the city's rules on demolition.
Senior Environmental Planner Brett Osborne says demolition is not a permitted activity in the proposed City Plan. It is discretionary.
If the hearing before independent commissioner Alan Dormer and city councillor Wayne Moultrie finds demolition is a discretionary activity, a Resource Management Consent will need to be applied for – a ruling that will affect every property owner in the City Plan's central business zone.
The Historic Places Trust appeal against the city council decision to remove a number of buildings in the city from the heritage list is going to mediation later this month.
The buildings under contention include the former Post Office on the corner of Spring and Grey Streets; the former Public Trust building, now Rydall House at 29 Grey Street; the former NZI building at 57 Spring Street; and the former Tauranga Electric Power Board building at 69 Spring Street.
The HPT stepped in about 18 months ago after the City Council Hearings Panel took the buildings off the heritage list, in a move that allowed the owners to demolish and rebuild.
Read more about the Historic Places Trust claim here.
27 comments
options
Posted on 05-09-2012 13:53 | By traceybjammet
maybe keep the facade and update the rest of the building thats what they do elsewhere???
Power Board Building
Posted on 05-09-2012 13:55 | By tabatha
Who ever thought of putting that Power Board Building as Historic missed the boat. The real historic power board building was where the ANZ is now and it was worthy of keeping the same as the old Town Hall. The power board building is not that old, built some where in the late 1950's or early 1960's. There were and are far more building worthy of keeping then thatplain edifice. Having lived here for over 60 years all the great buildings in the development of Tauranga have just about gone. If the Power Board building is on the Historic Places trust list so should be half of the buildings at Cherrywood that were built in the same era.Historic Places Trust is out of line.
Nanny Council dictating again
Posted on 05-09-2012 14:08 | By xenasdad
If I read it correctly, "demolition is not a permitted activity in the proposed City Plan", the key word is PROPOSED. Surely the rules that apply NOW are the CURRENT rules, not whatever they MAY be in future. Failing this the council can just make rules up and do as they wish because it is PROPOSED to change in the future. NO hang on, how silly of me , this is TCC we are talking about !!!!! We all know that truth is stranger than fiction.
One ugly building....
Posted on 05-09-2012 15:16 | By wreck1080
This building is a particularly awful example of NZ architecture. Just another example of anti-business tauranga. The ten-dollar tauranga name is well deserved.
When does Historic
Posted on 05-09-2012 16:02 | By Butch
become historic, this building is not historic, pull it down and build something a little better, most of the Hystyrical Societies members, are the only thing historic, they certainly have not done alot for the Strand, except for a few buildings done up by the owners, and only when they have been restored, getting involved.
ugly
Posted on 05-09-2012 16:46 | By hapukafin
What a ugly building to keep.If the historic building trust want to protect the building and keep Tauranga in last century they can come up with the money to do what they want to it
This do it by the book approach
Posted on 05-09-2012 19:04 | By Phailed
is bound to please all those moaning about a proposed supermarket to replace a pub at Bureta. Inspector Clipboard is alive and well in Tauranga with plenty of people keen to impose silly rules on private property, except their own of course.
HPT????
Posted on 05-09-2012 19:07 | By Dippie
What in heavens name has the Historical places trust got to do with this?? Futher more why is TCC planners saying it is not a "permitted"activity? It is time that people and organisations stop telling people that want to futher growth what they can and cannot do. I say get rid of HPT and the planners at TCC!!!!Hopefully that will happen when TCC restructure.
Before you blame the council
Posted on 05-09-2012 21:16 | By Phailed
Try reading the story. looks as thought the Council sensibly ruled this building was not "historic" but the NZ Historic Places Trust, kindly funded with your tax $ I believe, has appealed the council's decision. Lobby your MP to slash funding to the NZ Historic Places Trust. Get commonsense and productivity back into our lives before we go the Greek way.
Convenient?
Posted on 05-09-2012 23:16 | By tibs
Reading the linked article relating to the HPT, it looks like these old buildings have special significance because they were the first buildings built for the Public Trust, Post Office NZ Insurance and the Power Board. To be fair, the HPT should place classifications on all buildings that meet those criteria in all towns and cities. Or, do they only rear their ugly heads when someone ponies up with money to do a development and then maybe only if one of their moles gives them the tip off? In Howick, an elderly couple bequeathed their prized property with great gardens to the HPT. It was gratefully accepted for a while and then they declared it to be too expensive to maintain and wanted to sell it. Now anyone caught up in trying to do a development will most likely suffer financially and not be able to wriggle out like HPT do when it suits them.
You must be joking
Posted on 05-09-2012 23:53 | By Johnney
We had historic buildings that have since been demolished. This building is no way historic. This is HPT and councils convoluted plan in pretending we have historic buildings. Stop wasting our buildings owners foresight of modernizing and adding some value into downtown which only will benefit council and our city. Time to pull their heads out of the sand.
Hey Phailed
Posted on 06-09-2012 05:42 | By Butch
you can go "Greek", but leave this cowboy out of it!!!!!
Dose of reality is needed
Posted on 06-09-2012 09:32 | By maccachic
The HPT needs to wake up to the aftermath of the Earthquakes. These "historic" buildings need major work to bring them up to code to protect people, no tennants in these buildings will quickly mean they will ruin the owners and will go to rack and ruin anyway.
CATCH 22
Posted on 06-09-2012 12:55 | By YOGI
TCC wants the buildings brought up to current earthquake standards and all that, can not do that if the building is so old and dodgy. I would say that if HPT wants to guarantee all legal claims on a "past use by date building" for ever and pay all the extra costs and lost revenue from rtaining it then HPT can have their way, no problem.
MAKE PROGRESS
Posted on 06-09-2012 13:06 | By YOGI
Lets not continue to reside in the 19th century, move on, we all want the CBD to prosper, this would have to be about the first time I can remember where TCC is actually looking like it might not be stalling something useful, beneficial, creats jobs outside of TCC. Lets not get in the way of it, nor hint at that as they most likely will trip, stumble and fall on their sword yet again. They already look like a pin cushion from all sides as it is!
lunacy
Posted on 06-09-2012 14:20 | By gregor
what this city needs is progression not intervention. I used to visit the old power board building in the late 70's and it was never a nice building ever, its out of view to most. Wouldn't a better future be better than looking back at the ugly old past? Blow the goddam building up please. This is insanity, its just an old building! Old buildings die. Is it earthquake safe???
POWER BD BUILDING
Posted on 07-09-2012 09:15 | By TERMITE
It is a risk in earthquakes, like most buildings in the CBD. The HPT listing being removed will avoid many millions of retro fitting an old crappy building, mega dollars cost toteh landlord means mega rent and mega prices for shoppers. Best answer is that these know it all wannabees at HPT should be dipping into their own pockets if they want to keep the building. Level it no losses there and in fact "bonus" as it is risky to keep it.
RMA V HTP
Posted on 09-09-2012 11:28 | By TERMITE
Bit of a contest to see who can be the most difficult, complicated, pay the most consultants and take the longest. End result when they are both on the same job the poor old owner is going to get pummelled.
JUSTICE FOR JOE PUBLIC?
Posted on 12-09-2012 22:48 | By YOGI
I guess that all is a challenge there Joe is actually a sacrifical lamb in the process of getting whatever the big boys want.
WHEN WAS THE THREAT?
Posted on 14-09-2012 15:01 | By TERMITE
As far as I can see the threat has already been considered, implemented, and thashed all about the CBD, just lookat the number of empty shops, I bet you could add how many "lost" car parks that were wiped out and that would relate to how many shops have closed. If you asked me already happened!
THREAT NOW REAL AND HAPPENED
Posted on 16-09-2012 16:55 | By YOGI
The action plan that is going to "threaten the CBD" actually is way past that, the action plan is actually years into it and no sign of let up on the remaining inhabitants of the CBD.
PAST THE POINT OF
Posted on 17-09-2012 13:53 | By YOGI
More like: schemed, conceived, planned, approved, implemented and now on about round 4 of the match up, the deed has already been done ...
TCC
Posted on 21-09-2012 09:33 | By TERMITE
That is not a maybe thing is certainly is already and some, TCC is always messing with the CBD, in other places like Bayfair and Bethlehem shopping center the interference just does not happen and it all is a success, people are happy, plenty of parking and so on, like wake up folks. TCC has the "midas touch" on the CBD.
SPOT THE DIFERENCE
Posted on 23-09-2012 10:29 | By TERMITE
Between the CBD and the rest of Tauranga City. On one side you have the CBD in a slump and the rest of the city doing well. On the other hand you have TCC in the CBD and not involved anywhere else. GET THE PICTURE!
THE REAL ISSUE IS ...
Posted on 23-09-2012 16:47 | By TERMITE
In the last 24 hours or so I have been trying to think of something that TCC has done well, has been successful and heaven forbid actually achieved what was "said" at the beginning to be what was desired, I have considered carefully a lot of things including: Baypark, Mount Greens, TECT Arena, TEC scheme, Southern Pipeline, Airport, CBD, Bus terminal in the CBD, PriorityOne, Main Street, SmartGrowth, Baywave, multiple parts of Mount Hot Pools, CEO :(, Councilors, the Mayor, Building fees, Route K, Libraries, Sirens and Tsunami's, roading, flooding, The Lakes, Bethlehem 4 lane road, SH2, TEL and Pyes Pa Bypass just to name a few things that come to mind and I can't see anything in them that looks any good at all about any of them (unless you are a consultant). They have between them all created hundreds of millions of debt for TCC ratepayers at the start and cost tens of millions every year to keep afloat most often for just a few of the lucky few. All of that adds horribly to our annual rates, like we have a choice and that is a good thing ...? NOT! It is actually really depressing to have all of that in a list on one page.
DEMOLITION
Posted on 23-09-2012 23:15 | By PLONKER
"Demolition is not a permitted activity." is what is said above, that would have to be a classic statement, TCC issues Demo notices then says you are not allowed to ... perhaps the confusion is about what the rules apply to. The Statement above should be limited to TCC doing a bit of "self preservation", can't see any other purpose of it.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Posted on 26-09-2012 17:23 | By PLONKER
That about says it all, unless they start kicking a bit then there is a challenge for sure on it.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.