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Auckland mayor John Banks says the redevelopment of Queens Wharf is not about the Rugby World Cup and that the city should not rush into any decisions about the area.
Due to overwhelming public and expert opposition to a design competition to redevelop Queens Wharf, the decision was made on Thursday to put the project on hold .
Banks told Breakfast's Paul Henry that Auckland has one of the most magnificent downtown waterfronts in the world.
"(So) any development on Queens Wharf has to be absolutely magnificent and, as yet, we haven't got there," he says.
Banks says the council is "taking a break" from deciding what should be done with the area.
"We're stepping back from the 223 applications in the architecture competition and we're taking stock to see where we're at, where we should go, and what we can afford in the context of doing something, at some stage, brilliant on Queens Wharf.
"This city is littered with crass developments, taken ad-hoc, in a rush, on the cheap, not good enough, and I'm not going to sit back and allow that to happen."
Banks also told Breakfast that the area is not being written off as "Party Central" for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, although he says "the development of Queens Wharf is not about the World Cup".
"Yes, Party Central will be there. Yes, we will host it on the magnificent wharf, and it will be terrific, showcasing the city to the rest of the world."
Banks says Auckland ratepayers' money has not been wasted in the process so far, as the 223 entrants in the architecture competition gave their time for free.
What do you think of the Queens Wharf decision? Share your thoughts on the messageboard below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentritaanne said on 2009-11-11 @ 15:20 NZDT: Report abusive post
This is not fair on the competition entrants who spent much time putting together a submission free of charge!! Obviously there was not enough budgetted to achieve the magnificance wanted or there wouldve been gd options from the quality entrants. Secondly isnt it more important, in the long term, to save our coastal beaches from the sewerage and other pollutants than build a magnificent building? This project has been put off till 2010 last I heard!
R_MG said on 2009-11-11 @ 14:33 NZDT: Report abusive post
Mike Lee wants an iconic building on the waterfront. The budget allocated for this project wouldn't cover the cost of the front steps of the Sydney Opera House. Just as an example, the new WTO train station in New York has blown out to over 2 billion US dollars Furthermore, many ward-winning buildings in NZ are cheap imitations of work being done elsewhere. Lets no be parochial, get a proper budget, hold an international competition and build NZ's first Globally significant building.
wilmac said on 2009-11-06 @ 09:51 NZDT: Report abusive post
For the first and probably the only time, I agree with John Banks that the developement of Queens Wharf is not about the RWC! As much as I like watching sport and hope the the AB's do well in the RWC I also think that the waterfront should be a showcase for the city and that the passenger terminal should be a priority not just the 'party central' aspect!! Our International Airport is world class and so should our arrivals terminal for cruise ship passengers. At present it is abysmal!
nobby_nz said on 2009-11-05 @ 20:19 NZDT: Report abusive post
What a great idea! Let's put a fantastic proposal together, get everybosy excited about it, wait a while then scrap it and go for a 2nd class option that may or may not be ready for the RWC - Deja Vouz all over again - think harbour front stadium...the short sightedness of Auckland councillors never fails to amaze me.....I'm sure we'll end up with Party central being a pub in Kingsland simply due to the fact that a member of the ARC has an interest in it......
seeare said on 2009-11-05 @ 19:18 NZDT: Report abusive post
Typical Auckland, yet again they dither, yet again laughing stock, Super city I don't think so.. As for banks... Yeah right.....