Subscribe to RSS$26m Offer To Save Sheds
The Auckland City Council today recommitted $26 million towards saving the Queens Wharf sheds -and Mayor John Banks was the cheerleader.
“Not withstanding the blind disregard for the restoration of the historic sheds on Queens Wharf, the Auckland City Council hope the owners will accept this as an 11th hour bid for common sense,” he said.
Mayor Banks is encouraging the owners of Queens Wharf – the Government and the Auckland Regional Council – to consider revamping the sheds as an alternative to “turning them into firewood and replacing them with a temporary quick fix”.
Aucklanders inspect the Queens Wharf sheds at the weekend
“I am committed to preserving this city’s architectural heritage and this is part of that commitment.
“I acknowledge some of the public do not have a problem with pulling down the old sheds but once they are gone, that’s it.”
8 Comments
I don’t agree with this. These sheds are ugly. I can think of other heritage projects far more deserving of that money. The first one that comes to mind is the St James Theatre which is currently being left to rot.
Oh dear lord, so many flip flops my head hurts, this is the reason the rest of NZ laughs at Auckland, can we please get some leadership that only Mike Lee seems to be capable of providing instead of this follow the herd mentality Banks has acquired…
Is this the best use of council funds? I don’t think so. I quite like the idea in the herald today from a letter to the editor. Why not move one of the sheds to Tank Farm, restore it and use it to house the trams that the ARC wants to put in around there.
@Andrew- totally agree that money would be far better spent on the St James. Why the ACC is so keen on these sheds i have no idea.
Yeah, why not reuse them - I like Matt L’s idea. ACC are not proposing to keep them on the wharf anyway.
And as far as I know, St James is not supposed to be bulldozed in the next months so if it was one or the other, this one has priority for me. There’s lots of theaters left, but soon we will have none of our old industrial port architecture left.
Ingolfson - I can’t claim the idea, I read it in the Herald and thought it was a great solution worth sharing.
@Matt L. Agreed, they would be fantastic to house the trams (if we ever see them). Another idea could be to move them Captain Cook or Marsden Wharf and use them as the basis for the cruise ship terminal there.
At least with the $26 million on the sheds we will get something lasting. The sheds only really look ugly from the outside, once they are done up they will look great and be unique.
I dont think its worth spending $9 million on a temporary structure that will only last a month for the RWC.