Strip lays Canterbury stone to reflect Ak Heritage

Media release

Newmarket Business Association

Monday, 13 August 2007

Shopping strip lays Canterbury stone to reflect Auckland heritage

This morning Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard laid the first paving stone to mark the beginning of Newmarket’s long awaited $6 million make-over.

Over the next 12 months 22,000 volcanic basalt paving stones will be laid down the length of Broadway – Auckland’s leading shopping strip.

“The volcanic paving stones won considerable support during the public consultation process helped because the Auckland region is of course home to 48 volcanoes,” said Cameron Brewer, general manager of the Newmarket Business Association.

“The irony that we’re using Timaru bluestone to help reflect Auckland’s strong volcanic heritage has been not lost on the South Islanders. We got plenty of ribbing from the locals when we went down to South Canterbury."

Mr Brewer says with Newmarket wedged between the volcanoes of Mt Eden, Mt Hobson and The Domain, the town centre actually sits on a shelf of basalt rock following ancient lava flows.

“Developers spend their lives rock blasting in Newmarket, yet because commercial quarrying is prohibited in central Auckland, stone has to be sourced from elsewhere. It’s a win-win for both the north and the south.

Mr Brewer says the Auckland City Council Newmarket contract is the biggest contract Timaru Bluestone Industries has ever had. The company’s quarrying is viewed as relatively sustainable, leaving only light scaring on farmland in the district of Hadlow, five kilometres inland from Timaru. The basalt deposits were left after eruptions of neighbouring Mount Horrible hundreds of thousands of years earlier.

The imminent footpath construction is music to the ears of the Newmarket Business Association - the organisation that lobbied hard to get a financial commitment and start date from the Auckland City Council. Some of Broadway’s existing paving stones were laid by the former Newmarket Borough Council over 25 years ago.

"I was employed largely to pressure the council into delivering this project and to his credit Mayor Dick Hubbard committed $6million to the upgrade and had the council fast-track it by four years."

The Broadway upgrade starts on Monday 13 August at either ends of Broadway - on the Balm Street corner and outside the Olympic Pools. The construction period will be 12 months.

“We can’t wait for all the old street gardens and their timber surrounds to be ripped out and be replaced with smart stone walls and new plantings. We’re also getting new seating and brighter street lighting.

Lumsden Green will also be upgraded in 2008.

“We have all been thoroughly impressed with project leader Edoardo Canal’s pragmatism and his ability to pull the whole project together. Let’s not forget that this kilometre-long upgrade is costed at $6m. That is less than a seventh of the cost of Queen Street’s $43m upgrade.

“Broadway will be done section by section, with a lot of heavy duty work done at night. There won't be any construction during the weekends because that’s our busiest trading time, nor will there be any work on public holidays or from 1 December to 7 January 2008.

“It’s also important to note that Newmarket businesses have not had to pay the council an additional targeted rate for their upgrade, unlike Queen Street businesses.

“Kicking off this project is a great milestone for Newmarket. We’re going to look very smart. Without doubt the upgrade will cement Newmarket’s status as the country’s premier place to shop,” says Mr Brewer.

The council installation contract was awarded to P&M Paving and Construction Ltd.

ENDS

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