There’s an intense local debate between those who favour knocking down some of Wellington’s historic but unsafe buildings and those who believe that at least some of them can be preserved, according to the Dominion Post in New Zealand, as evidenced by the readers’ comments on the piece.
The Dominion Post writes:
Wellington has 170 earthquake-prone heritage buildings. Can they all be saved?
Developer Maurice Clark, a specialist in reviving heritage buildings, says no. ‘Obviously not.’ Not even a list of nationally significant buildings will be preserved in its entirety, he predicts. Wellington City Council’s list is full of ‘not-very-important’ buildings, he says – the ‘grotty little cafe’ on Cuba St and so on.
Councillor Iona Pannett, chairwoman of the council’s strategy committee, says yes. Or nearly yes. There may be a handful that eventually need to be demolished, she says, but the vast majority of the buildings on the list can be preserved. ‘I’d hope within the next 10 to 15 years, we will be able to resolve this issue.’
Read more…. and see the list of Wellington’s Earthquake-Prone Buildings
