The Press SATURDAY, MAY 11, 1963. Cathedral Square

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30128, 11 May 1963, Page 10

The Press SATURDAY, MAY 11, 1963. Cathedral Square

News that work is to start in the spring on the first stage of remodelling Cathedral square will be received with general satisfaction, particularly since the scheme has the support of the Cathedral chapter and the Christchurch Transport Board. The full scheme will do much to restore to the Square its proper dignity as the heart and hub of the city. The Cathedral will become the centre-piece with the closing of the carriageway at its main entrance, and a traffic hazard will be removed. The second stage of the remodelling will ensure a smooth traffic flow round the Square, though it is to be hoped that motorists who now use the Square as a through-way will take alternative routes. It should not be difficult to obtain the consent of the propertyowners affected to bevel the comers of two buildings which would impede traffic for, apart from compensation, they should benefit from enhanced land values For too long the Square has been little more to many citizens than a convenient bus station. The remodelling scheme, adapted from an

imaginative prize-winning entry in a competition sponsored by the late Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon, puts the emphasis back on the Cathedral precinct, yet leaves room for buses and ensures that the centre will serve the practical as well as the aesthetic needs of a growing, modern city. There is now greater urgency for a co-ordinated policy on the planning and construction of new buildings in the Square. The City Council is to encourage property - owners contemplating rebuilding to plan in keeping with the new concept of the area. Wider powers, not uncommon in other cities, will probably be necessary if an illassorted collection of buildings. with different purposes and appearances, is not to destroy the new dignity of the Square. Construction of the Government Life Office and the new Bank of New Zealand will be followed in time by a new building in the north-east corner of the Square and by a new Post Office. The council should define its policy well in advance of further rebuilding to ensure that harmony is obtained.