Squares historic?

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 6

Squares historic?

Latimer Square and Cranmer Square in Christchurch may soon be classified as historic areas by the Historic Places Trust. The trust’s Canterbury regional committee has requested the classification committee in Wellington to classify the squares as historic places, said Mr J. R. Allison. the Canterbury branch secretary, last .evening at the branch’s annual meeting. .

The request was made on the grounds that the squares had historic arid cultural associations since the settlement of Christchurch, he said.

If the squares were classified by the trust as historical places, the Christchurch City Council would have to take this into account when considering whether to put roads through them as planned, he said.

However, the classification would not actually prevent the council constructing the roads, Mr Allison said. Mr J. Burns, the trust's assistant director, said that the request would be considered "fairly shortly." It was the first request for the classification of an area ■since the Historic Places Trust Act came in earlier this year. The trust had become increasingly aware that buildings were important Jn the context of their areas, he said. ■

Christchurch .was probably leading New Zealand in finding new uses for old buildings, while Wellington was trailing other centres. The concept of finding new uses rather than buying buildings, doing them up and opening them to the public had not taken hold there yet. At the meeting, a trust

member and historic property owner criticised the trust for its lack of communication with people whose property they intended to classify under the new act..

He had been given only three days notice of a visit by trust members to inspect his property then had not heard from the trust for three years. If he had not been involved with the trust he would not have heard anything, he ’ said. / Mr Burns replied , that the main "office in Wellington had been chronically short of clerical staff. The regional offices had been told: in letters containing other - information, but there :had been no time to contact owners, he said. s . In addition, classifications were often embargoed until all prospective properties in an are., had been classified, he said.