N.Z. National Party Building May Become Parking Site

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29383, 9 December 1960, Page 16

N.Z. National Party Building May Become Parking Site

WELLINGTON, December 8. The Dominion headquarters and Wellington headquarters of the National Party in the old Express Building, in Hunter street, Wellington. restored and modernised recently at a cost of about £30.000. may be acquired by the Wellington City Council as a site for a parking building for 330 cars. The chairman of the town council’s planning committee <Cr. W. G. Morrison) said today that the council intends to go ahead with the scheme. It would be some time, however, before it became a reality The director-general of the National Party (Mr R. F. Wilson) said tonight that a local authority could take land under the Public Works Act for reading or public health purposes with the consent of the Governor-General to Council, but he doubted whether the law extended the purpose to that of providing a parking building. Cr Morrison said that the council some months ago gave authority for an application to be

made to the Local Authorities Loans Board for permission to raise money. In the Hunter street proposal it would be necessary to demolish some existing buildings and to And accommodation for the tenants. The main attraction of the site was that it was right to the middle of the commercial area. Within a 400 ft radius there was an estimated £7,000.000 worth of property. As the Hunter street proposal would take time to implement consideration had been given to a site of the Terrace, but it was found that the design of this could not proceed without knowledge of the proposed motorway. The council at its next meeting, however, would be asked to approve to principle the construction of a car parking building on the Terrace. Questioned about the money likely to be wasted with the Hunter' street building—the National Party rooms on which about £30.000 was recently spent in renovations would have to