Karori poorly served

Re the Karori Campus, the admirable Rob Gourdie (Wishywashy plans, March 15) is wrong. There is nothing wishy-washy about the comment by the Wellington City Council chief planner that the council would not look at retaining the (campus) building’s halls, because the community had other venues to use.

An act of civic and community vandalism is about to be visited on Karori.

Today the council is to consider a 84-page document, Karori Needs Assessment. It is as conflicted as it is voluminous.

It states the level of Karori numbers using the campus facility (1000p/w) ‘‘... is unlikely to justify the significant expense required to purchase and upgrade facilities’’.

And yet it also states ‘‘... current provision including facilities at the Karori Campus will not meet the increasing demands of the community’’.

Karori is to become a suburb with a hole in it. Currently wellused facilities – with considerable architectural merit – are likely to be bowled, leaving the suburb bereft of much-valued activity rooms and halls.

Today WCC will, in all probability, tell the university it can sell the campus on the open market.

VUW will be smiling. The Karori community will be bereft.

NICK BRIDGE Karori [abridged]