A future for Victoria Square

Press, 9 July 1983, Page 16

A future for Victoria Square

Sir Hamish Hay, The Mayor of Christchurch, sets out the proposals for the development of Victoria Square.

The recent discussions by the Christchurch City Council on the subject of the closure of Victoria Street near the Town Hall, and the eventual redevelopment of Victoria Square, are of far-reaching importance to the city. The public should be fully informed about what is being planned. The proposals really should be regarded in two parts:— (i) The closure of Victoria Street adjacent to the Town Hall and the Salvation Army Citadel and the development of the area thus available.

(ii) The subsequent redevelopment of Victoria Square as a continuing public recreation reserve, but significantly larger as a consequence of the elimination of the two roads, Victoria Street and Oxford Terrace, which at present pass through it. Both these “roads” are already legally closed and the council could, if it wished, close them to traffic at any time. The legal closure of Victoria Street north of the Victoria Street bridge to the corner of Durham Street and Kilmore Street is the immediate issue requiring to be resolved. The City Council took the first step towards this at its meeting on June 20, and its intention to do so has now been publicly advertised.

Any groups or interested citizens have the opportunity to lodge objections and, if they request, to appear before a council sub-com-mittee provided that they notify the council before August 4. The eventual development and possible changes to the park area of Victoria Square itself is a separate exercise and there will be plenty of opportunity for public participation in the management plan which will be submitted for discussion in due course.

Whether Queen Victoria moves closer to Captain Cook, or the Floral Clock is moved towards the Bowker Fountain, are issues which at this stage are not under active consideration as the important prerequisite for any future redevelopment of Victoria Square is the legal closure of Victoria Street north of the bridge.

I see the future commercial redevelopment of the area next to the Town Hall, including the closure of that part of Victoria

Street, as one of the really important challenges currently before the council and of great economic significance to the future of Christchurch.

While no decisions can be made until the street is formally closed, the council’s present thinking is that the site would be very appropriate for a hotel development and a car park serving the needs of the Town Hall and users of the hotel.

Considerable interest has already been expressed by more than one international hotel organisation and there could well be the prospect of a $3O-?40 million project on the site which is large enough to permit a 200-300 room hotel, but not of a high rise

character as some people have wrongly assumed. An international hotel specialising in attracting conferences to Christchurch would obviously make extensive use of the superb convention facilities which already exist in the Town Hall, some of which tend to be under-used, and this could have significant benefits to ratepayers in reducing the deficit on the operation of the Town Hall.

Any conference which is attracted to Christchurch has an economic benefit to the city, and the employment opportunities generated by the hotel itself and its stimulus to the tourist industry would be considerable, not only in Christchurch but throughout the South Island. The establishment of a major international hotel actively promoting Christchurch in its overseas publicity, could well be of major significance in our efforts to attract overseas airlines

to make greater use of Christchurch International Airport. I think it is important for the public to be reminded that the closure of this part of Victoria Street was an essential element in the much praised report of Professor Gordon Stephenson who resolved the question of the siting of the Town Hall 21 years ago, in September, 1962. His report then stated: “The roads across the Square have disappeared and given way to a park-like meeting place for leisurely enjoyment. The traffic arrangements are simplified and improved. A one-way system around the Square provides a very ample rotary movement. The awkward and wasteful five entry intersections at the north-western and south-eastern corners are eliminated. A one-way system is generally simpler, safer and more efficient as a solution in areas of traffic congestion, and in Christ-

church a system could be extended by stages. “The Victoria Square site offers a challenging opportunity to meet an important civic need in a way which will give the city a new focal point and meeting place. The scheme, if developed according to an inspired design, will not only improve the working of the city, but also greatly enhance the beauty which has resulted from the activity of previous generations. The proposal for Victoria Square is not divisible and should be carried out as a whole. It would be a mistake merely to select a site for a town hall overlooking an unchanged Victoria Square." I hope the public of Christchurch will heed these words of Professor Stephenson and will be fully supportive of this belated next stage in an enlightened development of one of the most important parts in our central city.