Green light for Chinese garden
Wellington’s proposed Chinese garden has been given the green light, with the Environment Court throwing out appeals against the project.
The decision means Wellington City Council can also forge ahead with its plans for a new waterfront playground and upgrade of Frank Kitts Park – both of which had been held up by the legal battle.
Work on the playground looks set to start immediately but the Chinese garden could still be years away, and increasing construction costs could push out its budget.
The proposed $5 million Garden Of Beneficence – part of the council’s planned $10.5m revamp of the park – was opposed by lobby group Waterfront Watch and former Greater Wellington regional councillor Michael Gibson at a fourday hearing last month.
The 3000-square-metre enclosed garden, which would be funded by the Chinese Garden Society, with support from Wellington’s sister cities of Xiamen, Beijing and Tianjin, raised concerns about safety, a loss of green space, and impeded views towards the park and Wellington Harbour.
But the Environment
Court on Friday denied the appeals, and ruled that resource consents for the project should be granted.
Wellington Chinese Garden Society chairman Harvey Wu said yesterday that the court decision would allow it to push on with fundraising.
‘‘Quite a bit of money’’ had been raised but he would not say how much, nor how long he expected it would take to raise the total.
There had been a lot of interest when the idea was proposed but the legal proceedings had created uncertainty, he said. Sources of funding were waiting for clarification before pledging.
‘‘We now have pledges and commitments to call in .... I am confident we will raise the balance of the $5m target.’’
City councillor Andy Foster, who holds the capital’s urban development portfolio, said the council would probably allow a couple of years for the organisers to stump up their share, and not allow the project to drag on.
In the meantime, the council would be seeking advice on current costs; looking at what it could achieve with the original budget and what the inflated costs would look like, he said.
Money would also have to be spent on deferred maintenance for the car park.
The council has earmarked $6.2m, in year seven of its 10-year Long-Term Plan, for the Frank Kitts Park garden.
It has also set aside $2.5m of funding for the playground, with work planned to start late this year or early next year.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said he was pleased to see the court decision had stressed the redevelopment would have only positive outcomes for Wellington.
‘‘I’m delighted that we can now immediately commence work on a destination children’s playground in the heart of Wellington’s waterfront.’’