Nurses’ home demolition moves another step closer

An independent commissioner has ruled that plans to demolish a 92-yearold building at Blenheim’s Wairau Hospital can go ahead, once dust and noise concerns are hashed out.

The ruling was made after a hearing before a commissioner on an application to bowl the old nurses’ home on the hospital grounds.

The Marlborough District Council declined the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board’s request for a certification of compliance in order to bowl the hospital’s old nurses’ home in November last year.

The council told the board it needed a resource consent instead, which the board opposed at a hearing on November 29, claiming the demolition was a ‘‘permitted activity’’.

Independent hearing commissioner Prudence Steben upheld the objection by the board in her decision, published last month, and said she did not consider the council’s reasons for refusing the certification valid.

A certification could be issued as the demolition and removal of the former nurses home building was a permitted activity under the Wairau Plan and the Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan (PMEP), she said.

Steben said the only objections she saw of relevance were the council’s concerns that noise and dust or other materials, such as asbestos, could arise from the building’s demolition.

Landowners typically submitted a management plan to the council setting out how they’d comply with noise limits and ensure no dust emissions went beyond site boundaries, she said.

It was ‘‘hardly surprising’’ that the board did not bring evidence to the hearing about compliance with noise limits or dust control, as the decision to refuse the certification did not identify them as an issue, she said.

‘‘I have not seen a management plan designed to address compliance with these conditions,’’ Steben said.

‘‘However, subject to that being met, I would see no reason why the council could not issue the [certification of compliance], in fact, it would be bound to.

‘‘There are no other rules, standards or conditions in either of the plans that would have to be complied with, in my opinion.’’

The old nurses’ home was built in 1926. A recent assessment found the building was at only 18 per cent of the new building standard, compared to the required 33 per cent, meaning it was ‘‘seismically unstable’’ and ‘‘an earthquake risk’’.

The council said despite this, the old nurses’ home was considered of heritage value by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZ), and was therefore protected by the PMEP, and not able to be demolished without permission.

But Steben said permission was not required for demolition of the building, even though it was listed by Heritage NZ.

Heritage NZ could prevent the demolition of a listed building if it had a heritage arrangement with its owner, requiring protection and conservation, or if a building was subject to the heritage rules of a district plan, she said.

To conclude, Steben ruled the council had the power to request further information on noise and dust to ensure compliance.

But while the council could insist the board make a third certification application, Steben saw ‘‘no reason why the [board] should be put to that inconvenience’’.

Council chief executive Mark Wheeler said council staff would look at whether to request further information regarding dust and noise compliance during the building’s demolition.

Wheeler said he believed the board would then just have to provide further documentation around the demolition, before the matter could move on.

‘‘I’m pleased a decision has been made. It’s quite a complex issue, and so I guess there’s always a difference of opinion as to how things should be interpreted,’’ he said.

‘‘That’s why I think it was a good thing it went to a commissioner who could look at it independently. At the end of the day, we want clarity around the future of the site [to be] confirmed.’’

Wheeler said he was interested to see how the site progressed in future.

‘‘There’s lots of opportunities on that site – not just the old nurses’ home building, but the wider site as well – for the board to work with,’’ he said.

Steben published her decision on January 22. It was received by the council at an environment committee meeting last week. The health board was approached for comment.