Advocate will keep pushing tower

Press, 7 April 1988, Page 1

Advocate will keep pushing tower

A Christchurch City councillor believes the council should not drop the concept of a tourist tower for Christchurch even if it endorses its commissioners’ recommendation to reject such a tower for Victoria Square. Cr Ron Wright plans to bring “some proposal” to the council at its April 18 meeting to keep the tower project alive. He was “bitterly disappointed” yesterday that the three independent commissioners appointed by the council to hear submissions on a District Scheme change to accommodate a tower in Victoria Square had recommended “no tower.”

"It just proves yet again that new ideas — anything out of the ordinary — are not encouraged

in Christchurch. We will go on having the same old thing,” he said. ' |

He hoped that the concept proposed by Tourist. Towers, Ltd, might still .be developed; One option was an alternative site, he said. i

Cr Wright believed the council would endorse the commissioners’ recommendation on April 18. i I Other councillors also thought that would be the case. Cr Alistef James, a supporter of the tower, said there was little point in setting up: an independent commission if the council did not heed its recommendation. “We are morally f and legally bound to, I belidvte.” • The Actins Mavo'r of Christ-

church, Cr Maurice Carter, .also felt the council was bound by its commissioners’ recommendation.

He hoped that an alternative site might be a means of keeping the project alive, j “I oppose the Victoria Square site and any site on reserve land, but on a private site it would be a different story.” j Cr Carole Evans, a strong lobbyist against the tower, said she was delighted by the commissioners’ report. Councillors were issued with copies of the report yesterday. Cr Carter said the Town Clerk, Mr John Gray, had decided to release the report before the April 18 council meeting because of public interest in the matter.

Details, page 3