I’m not sure if this real news yet or not – as Freddie sang, “is this real life, or is this just fantasy?†– but the DomPost is reporting that a large, indoor Arena, the size almost of the Spark Arena in Auckland, is to be built on the foreshore in Wellington.
The report says that 5 sites have been investigated – including on top of the entrance concourse (as was proposed before) – and the best site selected. That happens to be right where the ex-BNZ building sits. The building that is yet to be demolished. The site that they haven’t yet got permission to build on ?
But isn’t that site that is also being considered for the new Super ferry terminal ??? Earlier in the week we were told that King’s Wharf was the desired location for a new terminal to take both InterIslander and Bluebridge ferries. Two to three ships each from two companies – up to six ships sailing twice a day – with millions of tonnes of freight from hundreds of trucks daily – mixing in with 12,000 Fans screaming at the latest teen heart-throb – I see a serious clash occurring.
What that says to me is that, once again, WCC and GWRC are not talking with each other. You can’t both have the same land guys. And in fact, given how compromised that land is, should anyone have it ?
What do you think ?
There were warnings about geotechnical issues mentioned in the paper presented to the mayors yesterday – including reclamation and liquefaction. And there wasnt a clue about the cost. But the mayors went ahead anyway. They don’t seem to have been told about the ferry terminal plan. http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=114494
Geotechnical issues Lindsay? Yes, that seems quite likely. We know the ground is made from reclaimed land, dredged up from the sea bed. There is nothing very stable about that, but as long as the engineers know about that beforehand then they can design for the conditions. It’s the Mayors squabbling that I worry about. They have competing needs for the same, severely compromised piece of land.
Greater Wellington Council needs to get out of the way and get back to basic things like water supply for the region. Chris Laidlaw should be put out to pasture, or just simply the whole organization disbanded. Wellington City Council, and no one else, needs to be in charge of this area. It’s too important to screw up.
Every once in a while these sort of suggestions pop up then float away, seemingly borne on their own froth and bubbles
I remember one idea to put a mountain bike track East to West across the Northern Tararuas a couple of years back- that one disappeared
Building on a swamp puts me in mind of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNaXdLWt17A
I don’t think you have got it entirely right Levi. The two pictures you have posted clearly show both the upgraded Kings Wharf and the Arena co-existing, with the wharf sticking out with boats either side, and the Arena at the land-side end.
So, they are not competing for the same land then, are they?
Having worked on this project ( https://www.committeeforperth.com.au/assets/documents/What-we-thought-would-kill-us-Perth-Arena-FINAL-electronic.pdf ) the risks can be pretty high if the right governance is not sorted out early.
The above report gives some cost comparison for 8 similar indoor arena buildings. Average cost approx 30k NZD(2018) per seat. Good work if you can get it!
Thanks for that M30 – a bit of light reading for the weekend. Hopefully mandatory reading for all the Councillors !
Alan – its not so much that the two things will occupy the same ground 100% of the time, but more that if you have a Port, with long lines of trucks, cars, people, and goods trains, they have to get from the land to the edge of the sea. Now I don’t know about you, but there appears to be a large Area building smack bang in the path that nearly all of those afore-mentioned vehicles would want / need to go. Certainly would for trains. Certainly would for trucks. Almost certainly would for cars. Could probably make an excuse for people to come a different route.
So where would the traffic go? Is anyone seriously proposing that right here, on the edge of the rising ocean, we dig underground tunnels to somewhere else? I think not. And at ground level? Well that would totally screw up the Arena wouldn’t it? And at high level? Even worse. Nope. Its a fuck-up, plain and simple.