Demolition worries being addressed
FEARS demolition activity for Dunedin’s new hospital may harm neighbouring heritage buildings could be largely allayed before the matter goes to a hearing.
Allied Press, publisher of the Otago Daily Times, was set to argue against proposed demolition work at the former Cadbury factory in Cumberland St, but has withdrawn its submission after discussions with hospital project managers.
A hearing relating to demolition at the neighbouring factory site is scheduled to go ahead on November 2.
The Allied Press building in Stuart St was built in the late 1920s and is part of a precinct that includes the courthouse and railway station.
It is listed as a category 2 historic place.
Allied Press had submitted that potential adverse effects included noise, vibration and dust.
The printing press there was essential for the business and could be sensitive to vibration and dust.
However, Allied Press chief executive Grant McKenzie said that since making its submission, the company had worked with managers from the hospital project to deal with concerns.
The plan to manage possible impacts on the Allied Press site were sufficient for the publisher to withdraw its submission, he said.
Batchelar McDougall Consulting geospatial technician Trevor Cray said drone footage was being taken to inspect the condition of the Allied Press building and this could be used in any beforeandafter comparisons relating to demolition activity.
As part of that, a threedimensional model of the building would be made.
The proposal is to demolish buildings that made up the former Cadbury factory.
The application to be considered at the hearing relates to buildings with facades on Cumberland and Castle Sts that are listed as a heritage item in the district plan. Except for the Dairy and Machine House buildings at the southern end of the site in Castle St, all the buildings are planned to be demolished.
The Dunedin City Council received six submissions.
Otago Southland Heritage New Zealand manager Jane Macknight said the Cadbury buildings themselves had heritage significance because they were among the last complexes of continuous industrial development in the 19th and 20th centuries in central Dunedin.
‘‘The buildings provide a tangible link to the site’s history of land use, including as a brewery, distillery and confectioner,’’ she said.
The Ministry of Health proposed amended resource consent conditions to take account of Heritage New Zealand’s submission, she said.
The Southern District Health Board argued in its submission that the new hospital would have significant public benefit.
There were substantial problems with the existing hospital buildings, which included the clinical services building and ward block not being structurally sound.
The new hospital would be a better work environment and its facilities would meet future health demands of the southern region, the DHB submitted.