Cashel St mall has to wait

Press, 7 May 1980, Page 6

Cashel St mall has to wait

The proposed Cashel Street pedestrian mall is unlikely to be started within the next year, says the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr Hamish Hay). Speaking at the opening of the new-Cashfields shopping {complex last evening he said | )it could be two years before) la start was made on the pro-1 ject because the Christchurch City Council was committed to several big schemes. However, Mr Hay, said the mall should not be delayed much longer. It was proposed a decade ago as part of the town-planning scheme and traffic management for the central city area. Detailed design work on

the mall would start when the council’s design staff completed the civic offices project later this year. MiHay said he wished to see the mall completed within the [life of the next council term. The development of Cashfields showed how old buildings could be preserved, as opposed to demolition and complete rebuilding, he said. “It would be a tragedy if we allowed the bulldozer to move in on every site, especially those where the existing building has some intrinsic architectural merit, for example the Theatre Royal, the Regent Theatre, and the Old Post Office,” said Mr Hay.