DECISION REACHED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 9

DECISION REACHED.

Improvement of Godley Statue Plot. LONG STANDING PROBLEM. After many months a decision has been reached on the question of the lay-out of the Godley statue plot, directly west of the present tramway safety zone. The Godley statue will be shifted from its position opposite the northern entrance to the Cathedral and placed in the centre of the plot, where it formerly stood. It will be situated on a mound about two feet high, and from it steps will lead down to a flagged pathway running east and west. The rest of the plot, together with an addition of several feet on each side, will be in grass, with four lime trees taking the place of the silver birch trees now growing on the plot. Six seats, each recessed, will be provided, and trellis work will be constructed on the tramway shelters so that climbers may screen them as much as possible. The final decision on the lay-out was arrived at at a meeting this morning of the special committee to which the City Council gave power to act. The committee had before it the report of the sub-committee of experts set up at the conference called by the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.). ‘‘No Arbitrary Decision.” In reporting the committee’s final decision the Mayor stated this morning that the decision was an endorsement of the report of the experts (Messrs M. J. Barnett, A. W. Buxton and E. Taylor), with a slight modification as to the height of the mound round the statue. The report of the landscape gardeners was unanimous. Their plans were submitted by the committee to a New Zealand expert of wide artistic knowledge and travelled experience, and received his hearty approval. The Mayor said that a review of the history of the question would show that every conceivable effort had been made to get the best and most experienced opinion as to the best steps that could be taken to deal with the plot. There had first been consideration by. the City Council, a conference of citizens intensely interested in the Square, consideration by the committee of landscape gardeners, and by the New Zealand citizen referred to, and finally further consideration by the committee of the City Council representing all parties. It would be obvious, said Mr Sullivan, that there had been no arbitrary decision or any overriding of any section of public opinion, but an honest and_ unprejudiced effort to get the best advice available. “ I sincerely trust that those citizens who perhaps do not wholly agree with decision made,” said the Mayor, “ will recognise that the City Council has done its best to get competent advice, and that they will accept the decision in the spirit of good and harmonious citizenship.” Factors Limiting Design. The work will be put in hand as soon as possible, the date resting solely on the. question of the best season in which to > commence. The silver birch trees which will be removed will be replaced by well-grown specimens of lime trees, of about twenty feet in height. The committee of landscape gardeners had several limiting factors to contend with in their work. Factors influencing the design were the necessity for the replacement of the Godley Statue on its former site, the proximity of the tramway shelters, the men’s conveniences, the tram tracks and overhead electric wires, all of which will remain in their present positions. The plan agreed upon will involve the removal of the present kerbing and iron railing and the substitution of a low kerbing of Halswell blue stone or other similar stone on the extended boundary. This extension will add a considerable area to the existing plot, but will mean the altering of the channelling near the south-west corner to give sufficient room for the pavement at that point. Mound to be Lowered. The present mound is to be lowered considerably, but will still leave sufficient area in the centre of the plot for the statue. This area or raised mound will be 45 feet square and will give sufficient space for the statue with an eight feet flagged pavement surrounding its base on all sides, and also an eight feet strip of lawn on all four sides of it. This design could not be given effect to except by the removal of the four silver birch trees. Instead of the mound being terraced down to the general level, a stone wall two feet or two feet six inches high will be constructed of Halswell blue stone with an architectural finish. The rest of the plot is to be paid out in lawn and flower beds and planted with suitable trees. Four pyramidal shrubs will be planted at the four corners of the mound surrounding the statue and close-growing climbers will be planted at the base of the stone wall. Shrubs will screen the entrances to the conveniences. To give a better vista from the Museum and fnm the Cathedral along Worcester Street, and to carry the line of sight through and beyond the statue, a flagged pathway of Halswell blue stone, about 12 feet wide, will be constructed Irom the east to the west side of the plot with steps leading on to and off the mound. There will be two flower beds on the north and south sides of the plot, and also a narrow flower border following the structural lines of the kerbing.