Consultation on Te Ngakau District Development Plan is now open

Public consultation on Wellington City Council’s draft Te Ngakau District Development Plan has begun and runs until 13 November.

The plan brings together all the work taking place at Te Ngakau Civic Square with options for future development to create a single plan that will restore Te Ngakau as the civic and cultural center of Poneke.

The City Administration Building (CAB) and Municipal Office Building (MOB) renovation projects are already underway.

The development plan includes options for the rest of the site, including the City to Sea Bridge, the Michael Fowler Centre, the Jack Ilott Green Centre, the Wellington City Gallery, as well as landscaping for the square itself and surrounding areas.

The consultation seeks feedback from Wellingtonians on two key issues:

• What should be the priority in the further development of the site?
• What should replace the City-Sea Bridge?

The plan includes a number of indicative scenarios for the remaining development, each representing different priorities, including maximizing green space, expanding commercial activities and/or preserving existing buildings and structures.

The city-to-sea bridge is prone to earthquakes and poses a threat to the safety of the public, traffic below and the ability of emergency services to work on a key arterial route after a disaster. It is structurally connected to the former Capital E building, which is also earthquake-prone.

Due to these risks and the interdependence of the projects with the completion of Te Whare Whakaruika Town Hall, remedial action must be taken as soon as possible.

The option to strengthen the city-to-sea bridge was not included in the consultation due to the high cost of strengthening and disruption of the Gervois embankment, a key transport and emergency route.

The total cost estimate for the cheapest option for strengthening the bridge plus rebuilding the former Capital E site is $90 million to $120 million. Further development and testing will be required to refine this cost to a higher level of accuracy. Replacement options are either a pedestrian crossing only or a crossing plus a new bridge.

Mayor Tori Whānau says she is looking forward to hearing from Wellingtonians about what they want to see at Te Ngākau Civic Square.

“This development plan is a key part of regenerating the heart of our city and we want Wellingtonians to help us make sure Te Ngakau works for everyone.

“I accept that losing the city to sea bridge would be difficult, but due to the extremely high cost of strengthening and the disruption it would cause, it is unfortunately not a feasible option. We are exploring design options for the bridge with the artists or their whānau and representatives.”

The whanau mayor says the plan takes into account the Council’s limited financial situation.

“This consultation does not commit the City Council to making any additional expenditure beyond the $65 million already committed in the Long Term Plan, and going forward we will consider partnering with private developers to reduce or eliminate costs to ratepayers.”

The Council is currently working on the LTP amendment process, which may lead to further changes.

The purpose of the district development plan is:

• improve connections between the city center and the embankment
• bring nature and biodiversity back to the site
• build resilience in the face of climate change
• revitalize the site through a range of social, cultural and commercial activities
• maintain the vibrancy of surrounding business and residential areas.

The plan was developed by the Pōneke Collective, led by Warren and Mahoney, in collaboration with Tihei, Place Collective, Ripple Resilience and Council officers.

Along with Warren and Mahoney, Tihei incorporated te ao Māori and mana whenua perspectives into the design, returning Te Ngākau to a sense of nature. The conceptual design explores the concept of Puheke (flow) from the whenua at Willis and Victoria Streets to the moana at the waterfront.

Wellingtonians can provide feedback by completing the online submission form on the Let’s Talk website at wcc.nz/te-ngakau-plan – and libraries will also have paper submission forms available to download online. Information about the in-person panel discussion on Wednesday, November 6 and open sessions can be found on the Let’s Talk website.

Find out more about all the major projects in Poneke at https://wellington.govt.nz/wellington-city/positively-poneke.

Note

The Long Term Plan calls for $65 million over three years to fund options studies and follow-up work on the foundations of Te Ngakau, the former Capital E, the City to Sea Bridge and the wider Te Ngakau Development Plan. This funding is distributed as follows:

• Strengthening the basement and restoring the area: $26.8 million.
• Demolition and restoration of the City to Sea Bridge, walkway, seawall and former capital E: $30 million.
• MOB demolition: $8.3 million.

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