New museum among study suggestions
A NEW purposebuilt Clyde museum is one option suggested in a study about how to take Clyde’s past into the future.
Six options have been outlined in a feasibility study on the Clyde Museums’ buildings and Clyde residents are now being urged to provide feedback on their preferred option.
The study was prompted by pressures on museum buildings, some of which have been closed due to earthquake concerns; increasing strain on Clyde’s small group of museum volunteers; and questions about how to best preserve Clyde’s extensive museum collections.
One of the options now is to redevelop the site of the Briar Herb museum complex by closing the Blyth St museum building and relocating its collection, demolishing the newer parts of the Briar Herb complex, relocating the old goods shed and building a new purposebuilt museum on the Briar Herb site.
The other five options are to close both the Blyth St and Briar Herb Museum, redistribute their collections, and not build any new museum; retain the status quo by keeping the Blyth St museum open as it is and keeping the Briar Herb Museum closed; upgrade both museums; upgrade the Blyth St museum and demolish parts of the Briar Herb complex, retaining the original Briar Herb factory building and relocating the Clyde goods shed opposite the railway building; or build a new museum elsewhere in the Clyde town centre, closing the Blyth St museum, and either retaining or demolishing parts of the Briar Herb complex and goods shed.
Vincent and Teviot Valley property and facilities officer Christina Martin urged people to read the detail of the options presented, including about the history of the Clyde buildings.
Only some were historic, she said. Others, such as the mudbrick part of the Briar Herb complex, were in fact recent, relatively modern additions, and did not have the same heritage values as the original Briar Herb factory building, for example.
No costings have yet been released for the options.
❑ To find out more go to www.codc.govt.nz/yourcouncil/ projectupdates/clyde—museums/ Pages/default.aspx or contact the CODC. Consultation closes November 23.