WATERFRONT BID

Shed 9 plans divide public

Submissions to the city council show Wellingtonians are divided over the proposed waterfront development of Shed 9.

Wellington City Council has received 128 submissions on developer Willis Bond & Co’s plans for the new five-storey block, with 57 per cent in support and 36 per cent against.

The remaining 7 per cent were neutral over the plans for the site, which sits between Wagamama restaurant and the old motorhome park.

Objections include those from Jim McMahon on behalf of the Wellington Civic Trust, who said the build would dislocate the heart of the city from the waterfront by creating an ‘‘imposing visual barrier’’.

McMahon said there were also concerns the new build would overshadow Shed 13, a valuable heritage building.

Waterfront Watch criticised the public consultation document for lacking key information, including how it might encroach on views, the height, and the purpose of the building.

Waterfront Watch said it could not support the building without more specifics.

According to an Environment Court ruling in 2012, the maximum height of a building on the site should be 19 metres, sloping to 16m.

A submission from Robt Jones Holdings Wellington general manager Sam Cooper said the current design sat at more than 8m above the regulation, and requested it be amended to cohere with the previous decision.

‘‘The building is outside the parameters set out in the 2012 Environment Court decision,’’ the submission reads.

‘‘This is to the detriment of shading for the proposed public area in front of the building, the view shafts in place under the district plan.’’

Maurice Clark, managing director of McKee Fehl Constructors, also raised concerns over the proposal.

He said the five-storey building would probably have to lose one and a half floors, and should be redesigned to ensure views and access from Jervois Quay and surrounding buildings were not impeded.

While the plans might not have won over key interest groups, there was strong support in a submission from a 4-year-old from Paparangi, who felt the plans were a good idea, but needed ‘‘more slides and icecream’’.

The submissions will go before the council’s city strategy committee for consideration tomorrow.

ILLUSTRATION: ATHFIELD ARCHITECTS The building proposed at site 9 on Wellington’s waterfront, with the site 10 development on the right. The existing Shed 13 is not shown but is to the left of the buildings.

ILLUSTRATION: WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL The image used in Wellington City Council’s public consultation documents shows the proposed building relative to Shed 13 to the south.