Colombo Street plan

Press, 24 April 1987, Page 16

Colombo Street plan

Sir, —I note that the proposed development of a shopping area in north Colombo Street involves the demolition of some genuine historic buildings and their replacement with imitation ones. Has the Historic Places Trust any comment to make?—Yours, etc., W. A. SUTTON. April 9, 1987. [Mr lan J. Lochhead, of the Canterbury Regional Committee, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, replies: “As development plans for the area of Colombo Street between Kilmore and Peterborough Streets, to which your correspondent refers, have only been stated in the most general terms it is, as yet, difficult for the Historic Places Trust to comment. The trust has not classified any buildings in the area, nor does it have plans to do so in the immediate future. Many of the buildings which may loosely be described as “historic” in this area have already been extensively modified. The trust, nevertheless, welcomes any plans to recycle old buildings of merit, as long as their architectural integrity can be retained. Where this is not possible, welldesigned new buildings which are sympathetic to the character of an area are greatly to be preferred to inept approximations of what previously existed.”]