Museum to revive tales of Lyttelton
A new multi-million dollar museum planned for Lyttelton is expected to bring stories of the port town to life.
Lyttelton has been without a museum since its former Christchurch City Council-owned building on Norwich Quay was demolished following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
The collection was saved and more than 8500 items had been catalogued and were in storage while the Lyttelton Historical Museum Society developed plans for a new building.
The society has asked the council to give it a 316-square metre property at 33 London St – the pre-quake site of its service centre, which has since been demolished.
The land was worth $220,000, according to a 2014 market valuation.
The Banks Peninsula Community Board this week confirmed that it supported the council gifting the property to the society.
The public would be consulted before the council made a final decision.
The society has $600,000 but estimated it needed to raise another $5.3 million to construct the building and help with operational costs.
Early estimates expect the museum could cost $4m to build.
Without site ownership, the society would find it difficult to gain grants from funding agencies, which were reluctant to give funds on a lease basis, council property consultant Dan Egerton said in a report to the community board.
A business case for the museum said the society had a vision to create a sustainable new attraction with dynamic and engaging displays and programmes that brought the stories of Lyttelton to life.
The society hoped to have the new museum open by the end of 2019.