8 July 2010
MEDIA RELEASE

ARC decision on Queen’s Wharf shed welcomed

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust has welcomed the Auckland Regional Council’s decision to retain one of Auckland’s historic Queen’s Wharf cargo sheds, said NZHPT Chief Executive, Bruce Chapman.

The ARC voted to retain one of the sheds and to dismantle the other for relocation to another, as yet undetermined, site. The ARC will also explore options for placement of a temporary structure for the Rugby World Cup.

“The ARC has offered a reasonable compromise that allows the wharf and Shed 10 to be used for a wide range of purposes, while ensuring important elements of its heritage can be retained and adaptively reused.

“People who have attended events in one of these sheds, or in buildings like these in other cities around the world, recognise the potential for creating a space that works well as an event venue. And with such a large area, there is scope for a versatile and adaptable space that is an asset on this prime waterfront area.

“To be clear, as the sheds have no formal heritage protection, NZHPT consent to any demolition proposal was not required. However, the ARC sought to engage constructively with us to explore options for the area. Our role often involves working directly with owners and developers, providing advice and support and our view quite naturally is focused on retention and protection of heritage.

“The ARC sought to actively work with us to explore options for this area and we’re very pleased that they’ve done so,” said Mr Chapman.

The ARC has also indicated to the NZHPT its intention to retain as many of the wharf’s other heritage features as possible as part of the area’s redevelopment and the NZHPT looks forward to working with them further.

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