Wachner Place clock shift gets ICC tick of approval
Invercargill’s Wachner Place clock looks set to be shifted forward to the edge of Dee St – a move that also seems to strengthen the case for retaining the four pillars that stand in the middle of the street.
City councillors on Tuesday supported the proposal from a committee of council representatives and the developers of the Distinction Hotel to collectively stump up to have the clock moved east, opening up room for a bus lane behind it to access the hotel under construction.
The council’s share of the cost of the project, which now goes forward to a more detailed planning stage, is between $2 million and, with contingencies, $4m. That would come within the costs that the council had already budgeted in its consultations with the public.
The future of the clock had been under scrutiny given that its mechanisms needed expensive work in any case, and its existing position put it in the way of the bus access the council and developer want to provide for the hotel under construction in Dee St West.
The future of the pillars remains a separate decision as the council scrutinises them for structural strengthening.
Mayor Nobby Clark asked whether they could be strengthened and retained instead of being removed.
Public submissions to the council supported the pillars’ retention.
The council’s chief engineer for infrastructure Russell Pearson said the council needed to find a sensible and cost-effective solution.
But bringing the clock forward did make for a combined feature with the columns, which had been “a little bit lost’’ standing isolated in the middle of the street. The redesign gave them “a bit more perspective and purpose”.
Clark said combining with Distinction Hotels was similar to the approach taken with developers for Invercargill Central Ltd.
“While we’d be contributing financially, we’re in some ways working through a joint venture process, allowing the developers to do most of the heavy lifting and most of the work – which I think is a really positive thing for the council.”
It took away the risk that the council could be unable to get its share of the work done in time for the hotel opening.
Pearson added that the council would still “want to manage the quality and the output as they do that work”. “They will be having us watching.”
Cr Darren Ludlow asked if there were plans to reinstate the clocks bells, bearing in mind their proximity to the new hotel and the fact they were already creating “some issues for accommodation in that area”.
Parson said he believed the clock would needed to have the capability of the bells ringing, but whether or not they did was a matter that could be managed.
Cr Peter Kett was the sole opposing voice to the clock move. He opposed opening up Wachner Place for bus access saying the change would be creating a wind tunnel and there were plenty of other options for bus access to the hotel from Leven St.