Mayor hints film museum on agenda

Wellington’s failed movie museum could soon be back on the table, with mayor Andy Foster hinting plans for the project are well under way.

Foster told media following his ‘‘state of the city’’ address to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday he was confident Sir Peter Jackson’s movie museum would become a reality, after initial plans fell over.

The museum was initially proposed to be part of the city’s planned convention centre, but was scrapped last year following disagreement between Jackson and Wellington City Council.

Foster has previously said the failed project was a missed opportunity, and hoped the attraction could be established elsewhere in the city.

When asked by media why he was now confident in the future of the project, Foster said: ‘‘You’ll find out.’’

He would not disclose which site was being looked at, or whether it was his association with Jackson – who funded Foster’s mayoral campaign – that was driving the new proposal.

During his speech to a large crowd of invited guests at Wellington’s PwC building, Foster listed the movie museum as one of his key priorities to drive economic development over the next year.

He said the council’s initial failure to secure the attraction was a ‘‘crying shame’’, and the museum would be fantastic for Wellington.

‘‘I was reading something the other day when I was in Hamilton that Hobbiton [Movie Set Tours], in rural Waikato, had 644,000 visitors last year.

‘‘So if you can do that in rural

Waikato with a bunch of Hobbit holes, what could we do in Wellington with all the movie opportunities that there are?’’

Foster also reiterated his desire to bring forward construction of an extra Mt Victoria tunnel, and revealed he would soon meet with Transport Minister Phil Twyford to discuss it.

Twyford said that meeting would take place today and would also include Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter.

The tunnel project is part of the $6.4 billion Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme, and is scheduled to be completed some time after 2029.

While Foster said he understood Twyford was open to a conversation about renegotiating the programme’s timeline, Twyford said that was not an option.

Twyford also ruled out reconsidering a congestion charge to help fund the programme, something Foster said should be an option for the council.

Other ideas floated by Foster during his presentation included creating rooftop gardens for buildings in the struggling Te Nga¯ kau Civic Square, modernising the city’s central library, establishing a military museum, and strengthening Wellington’s identity as the capital city.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford issued a challenge to Foster and the council to get the city moving after nine years of stagnation.

He said a trip recently to a bustling Auckland highlighted that ‘‘every minute we’re talking about doing stuff, Auckland’s actually doing it’’.

‘‘And they’re actually going to reap the benefits years before we do in Wellington.’’