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NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Whanganui council invites public to have say on former St George's School buildings
The buildings at Grey St were bought by Whanganui District Holdings, the council's financial arm, in 2019 in a joint partnership with Te Ngakinga o Whanganui. They were meant to house an aviation training hub through the New Zealand International Pilot Academy (NZICPA), then a homeless hub initiative was 'aborted', Langford said. A retirement village and a petrol station on the corner of the site were potential options in recent years. 'Hotel development has been suggested, as well as student accommodation for NZICPA. 'Based on three-bedroom properties using Kāinga Ora -style social housing designs, you could fit up to 150 units on the site.' The council's preferred option was to seek a long-term lease of the site, but elected members voted against having a preferred option during public consultation. Langford said previous conversations with private developers showed leasing the site would likely mean demolishing the buildings beforehand. His report to the council said demolition would cost $1.255 million, including deconstruction, asbestos removal and soil remediation. 'The City Endowment Fund has cash reserves of $1.5m,' it said. 'This ringfenced fund could be used to fund the deconstruction and remediation rather than debt funding.' Langford told councillors there was one live lease inquiry from a community health provider, which wanted to develop a medical centre and community hub. 'My understanding is their timeframes are becoming increasingly tight. 'I believe they are keen to progress their development and have some urgency because they are in temporary accommodation at the moment.' Advertise with NZME. Councillor Michael Law said he did not agree with going out to consultation because the process would take up a lot of officers' time and there would be little feedback. 'We just need the information in front of us to do what we are paid to do,' he said. 'Please give me a business case and I'll make a decision based on that.' Langford's report said leasing the property long-term would provide a net financial return of $109,000 a year. Refurbishing the buildings was estimated to cost $12m. Demolishing them but keeping them for council use would mean a net annual cost of $180,697, including the loss of revenue from the YMCA, which currently occupied part of the property. Selling the site was not considered viable because of commitments made by the council to the Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust (WLSNT) in 2018, the report said. They prevented the council from divesting any property while the land treaty settlement process was under way. 'Council officers have engaged with WLSNT, who have confirmed an interest in 125 Grey St, and that they would not support council divesting the property,' it said. 'However, they are supportive of long-term leasing arrangements.' Councillor Rob Vinsen asked how much Holdings bought the buildings for in 2019. The council did not give a figure when asked by the Chronicle last month. Langford said he could not remember the original price, but when the council bought the property back from Holdings in 2023 it paid about $1.2m, with no impact on ratepayers. 'That was sufficient to completely clear the Holdings' financing they used to acquire it,' he said. 'It's got a current book value as an asset, because of the impairments we've applied to the buildings due to their condition, of $2.5m.' His report said the buildings had a seismic new building standard range of 10% to 30%. The earthquake-prone building threshold under the Building Act is 34%. 'The site is confirmed to contain significant levels of asbestos contamination,' it said. 'Based on the level of risk, the main buildings should only be entered with full personal protective equipment.' The original school buildings, built in 1927, have Class C heritage status under the Whanganui District Plan. Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig said it was a strategic site and the community needed to think about how it could function in the future. 'The existing building, I think, most people would consider to be pretty iconic,' she said. 'If people have real ideas or business opportunities they think could be viable, it would be good to hear about that.' Public consultation runs from May 27 to June 15. Part of the consultation process will include car parking options along Parsons St and Carlton Ave. Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
End To The American War On Vietnam Remembered 50 Years On
ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE ON VIETNAM The 50th anniversary of the end of the War on Vietnam will be commemorated in Wellington on Friday, 16 May 2025. 30 April 1975 saw the "fall of Saigon" that brought an end to this horrendous war. Former members and supporters of the Wellington Committee on Vietnam (CoV) and associated groups such as Release All Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience (RAVPOC), the Organisation to Halt Military Service (OMHS) and Medical Aid for Vietnam have been invited to the gathering. Younger and current anti-war activists have also been invited. The gathering has been called by former chairs of the Wellington Committee of Vietnam in the early 1970s, Michael Law and Robert Reid, and will include an "Extraordinary Special Meeting of the CoV" to mark the occasion. The events will be held at the National Library in Molesworth Street, Wellington. From 2.00 pm until 4.30 pm Friday 16 May the Alexander Turnbull Library will have some of its archived material on anti-war protests on display (especially from the Rona Bailey Collection). At 5.00 pm the reunion meeting will take place in the Malaga Pasifika Room of the National Library. The events will remember the brave struggle of the Vietnamese people for independence, the horrific action and atrocities of the US and allied forces in Vietnam and the protest activity that took place against the war on Vietnam in New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s
