A park in Tuam Street

Press, 14 December 1983, Page 20

A park in Tuam Street

Little of the public development that has shaped the face of Christchurch in the last two decades does not bear the stamp of Mr Peter Scoular, the man who retired in 1982 as the Christchurch City Engineer and Deputy General Manager. The City Council has very aptly decided to name the planned pocket park opposite the Civic Offices in Tuam Street after Mr Scoular. In the past, streets, reserves, and council housing developments have been named after Mayors or after councillors of particular distinction; marking the contribution by council officers to the city’s development by similarly naming council works is not common, and is a measure o£ service beyond the bald* requirements of the job. Evidence of the wide range of civic development and planning that owes something to Mr Secular’s work for the city can be seen all around. During Mr Secular’s term as City Engineer, Christchurch underwent a period of great development. The rapid progress of Christchurch Airport, Queen Elizabeth II Park, the redevelopment of Cathedral Square into a pedestrian plaza, the Southern Expressway, the introduction of the one-way street system, the building of the Town Hall: these are just a few of the many landmarks in the city’s history that, depended to some degree on Mr Secular’s foresight, oversight, or general supervision. One

of the last main tasks that Mr Scoular performed before he retired was the transformation of a department store into the present Civic Offices. These offices will overlook the park that will carry his name. People who work in the Civic Offices will appreciate, more than others, the exceptional management talents that Mr Scoular has lent to City Council administration, especially through his ability to integrate the workings of the council’s many departments, and his determination to embrace the interests and requirements of citizens in planning, and engineering. This kind of approach ensures that >-a city acquires a Style of its own, and is agreeable to as many people as possible, and not merely that streets and buildings are constructed and that the facilities work within engineering limits. Peter Scoular Park will be small, but important for all of that, and not just an ornament for the Civic Offices. This part of the city seriously lacks the charm of open space, trees, and greenery for which Christchurch generally is known. It is, frankly, a drab corner of the central city, much in need of reserves to which the council’s ratepaying neighbours have contributed. The park should be an attractive, if small, beginning to the kind of improvements that Mr Scoular has long championed and led.