ENGLISH PARK REPAIRS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25735, 22 February 1949, Page 3

ENGLISH PARK REPAIRS

replacement of SEATING CITY COUNCIL DECISIONS Recommendations for improvements to English Park w~re adopted by the City Council last evening, iney include the reconstruction of all seating and the covered stand as soon n S -i a j- P ermit is received from the Building Controller at a cost of £2400, and the surfacing of the cycle track at a cost .of £B5O. The reserves committee also recommended that the work of constructing an embankment be accelerated so that it might be completed before the Centennial celebrations The cost of-this would depend on the filling available. Describing the present condition of the park the report said that seating K- a Q7nn CVlde< l in F ers for approximately 3700 people. While the supports of the seating were, with a few exceptions in good condition, the decking a * seating was in a bad way. Much of the timber was cracked, broken and rotted, and much of it had disappeared.

To make a really first-class job, the whole of the present seating should be taken out and new stands built of the required capacity and solid construction. Under to-day’s conditions it would be impossible to do tins in a reasonable time. The cost would be very high and, even if a permit were obtained, the supply of structural or reinforcing steel was so poor that no time limit could be fixed, for this reason reconstruction and repairs to the existing seating should be undertaken without delay so that the grounds could be used success--1 ls involved stripping and rebuilding all decking and seating The old timber should be used as tar as possible, said the report, but rep’ a eernents would be high and more than 30.000 super feet of timber would be required. A slight modification would permit four tiers of seats to be placed where now there are three. A permit would be required for this work. Any applictaion for it would nay. to be referred to Wellington, put; from preliminary discussions it seemed likely that a permit would be given provided brown birch was used, ims timber was rather more exoenSl ye than red pine, but should give satisfactory results. The bank, on the south-west side could be built up to provide standing accommodation, the report added. This work could be expedited by special carting of filling. y P The cycle track was sound except for the inner and outer edges. The surface was far from perfect An ideal running surface would be provided with a cover of “plant mix.” Cr. J. N. Clarke said that the job was very urgent. The cost would snow on next year’s estimates.