Te Ngākau - The Civic Square

ICW believes there is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create an
enhanced, central city, civic and green space :
TE NGĀKAU - THE GREEN HEART OF THE CITY
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15 November update:
The future of Te Ngākau Civic Square is being discussed. It includes a plan to replace the MOB and CAB buildings in the Square with an up-to 12 storey commercial building. ICW is requesting the Council to not build, but instead to keep the area where those buildings were as an open, publicly-owned space.

There was a recent consultation phase about the Te Ngākau plan but it did not invite people to comment about whether or not to build on the MOB and CAB site. It is not too late to let Councillors know what you think about this issue.

ICW has submitted this request to Council:

  • Instead of putting a towering commercial building in the CAB/MOB location, please return that land to open space so that Te Ngākau/Civic Square can become an enhanced publicly-owned amenity that supports the civic needs and the green space needs of the residents of our city.

If you support our request, please click this link and complete the form so that you can let the Council know

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A bit of background about the following info

We wrote the following information to help people navigate the recent Te Ngākau Precinct Development Plan consultation process and online form, and to let people know that ICW was requesting the Council not to put a large-scale commercial building on the MOB and CAB site. You can read our submission here ICW’s Te Ngakau Precinct Development Plan submission

It is not too late to let Councillors know if you agree with ICW’s request not to build there. The following information could help you understand our reasoning.

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The opportunity

  • The Wellington City Council has opened consultation about Te Ngākau - our Civic Square.

  • Te Ngākau/Civic Square is a public space created for civic purposes but an up to 12-storey commercial building is being planned for the public space where two council buildings (CAB and MOB) are being demolished.

  • ICW has been advocating for many years that our growing city needs more green space and public amenity.

  • The Council agrees (see its Green Network Plan) but in our built-up inner-city, the Council has found it difficult to identify enough land for a meaningful space.

  • We think the removal of the CAB and MOB buildings provides that space!

  • We are asking our Councillors to do this:

    • Instead of putting a towering commercial building in the CAB/MOB location, please return that land to open space so that Te Ngākau/Civic Square can become an enhanced publicly-owned amenity that supports the civic needs and the green space needs of the residents of our city.

We are calling this opportunity

  • Te Ngakau - the Green Heart of the City

  • The Te Ngākau public consultation that is currently underway provides the opportunity for people to ask for this to happen.

  • While the consultation form doesn't ask for your thoughts about the commercial building, we have checked and it's absolutely appropriate to use the Te Ngākau online public consultation form to let the Councillors know that you want a flexible open space, not a building.

    AND ... this needs to be done before the consultation period runs out on Wednesday 13 November.

More about the idea - what do we want?

We want to bring our Civic Square back to life by making it a publicly owned, central city park area that serves our civic needs and becomes the green heart of our city.

Wellingtonians have a chance to make this happen because the publicly owned CAB and MOB buildings that partially surround the Square are being demolished. 

The CAB building has already gone - if you look into the Square today there is immediately a greater sense of space, light and openness - reminding us of what it used to be like before CAB was built.

So - instead of replacing the CAB and MOB with a large new commercially-owned building (which could be 12 storeys high under the District Plan) - what we want is for the cleared space to remain open and become part of an expanded, much needed, publicly-owned civic and green space in the heart of the city.

Is it too late to make this happen? - NO
ICW recently attended a briefing meeting provided by the Wellington City Council team for the Square's near neighbours. Attending the meeting were local residents and a Council team that included

  • Councillor John Apanowicz

  • The Council's Chief Operating Office (COO) James Roberts. 

The attendees expressly asked:

  • is it too late to propose that no replacement building be built

and both Councillor Apanowicz and Mr Roberts said

  • it was not too late

  • because no contract has been signed.

They also very clearly said

  • if you want this 'no building' idea to be considered by Councillors, then the best opportunity is for residents to use the Te Ngākau consultation process to let the City Councillors know.

Why is this a great idea and opportunity?
Here are some of the things the residents said at the meeting. 

  • Why does the Civic Square's origins and purpose have to change? It's meant to be a public space - home for civic activities, owned by and for the public.

  • What is a commercially owned, up to 12 storeys high, building doing in this public space anyway - when there are many other commericlal buildings with space to spare available throughout the city?

  • Why can't it become a wider, more open public space with more room for plantings, lawn, seating as well as public meetings and gatherings?

  • Why can't it be an expanded public amenity space for the enjoyment and needs of an intensifying city?

  • Why can't it be a much needed public amenity where visitors and locals of all ages can go to explore our refreshed Library, Gallery, and Town Hall as well as take in that amazing view of the harbour and lagoon?

  • Why can't it be the place where everyone wants to go to have their graduation, wedding and holiday photos to be taken,and  shared locally and beyond.

Listening to their contributions, ideas and passionate advocacy for more green and civic space - plus all the feedback from residents we've heard over many years - has led ICW to pick up the challenge and to advocate for creating this enhanced and flexible public new space: Te Ngākau - the Green Heart of the City!

Does the Council want more green space in the city? - YES
So many local residents have said, over the years, how short we are of open space - an essential public amenity that makes living in the city more enjoyable. And the Council agrees too. Here's an extract from the Council's Green Network Plan:

From Wellington Central City Green Network Plan. 12 May 2022
The Green Network Plan sets the direction and targets for how we green Wellington’s central city in the next 30 years to take action on the current deficit, provide for growth and to address the climate and ecological emergency declared in 2019.

The central city is dominated by buildings, large areas of asphalt and paving. Streets are vehicle dominated, with large areas of both on and off street car parking. The original vegetation has gone, the streams only exist in pipes. This has resulted in a deficit of green space in the central city for current users and residents.

There is a need to further green the central city.
As Wellington changes and grows, with greater numbers of people visiting and living in the central city, there is a need to further treasure, celebrate, grow and manage the city’s green and blue network.
A diversity of green spaces, trees and plants is critical to people’s wellbeing, sustaining a healthy environment and mitigating climate change. Green and blue elements should be part of all development as our city grows and changes whether it is new infrastructure, transport and/ or a building project.
There is need to ensure the city continues to build on its liveability and ‘eco-credentials’.

Where is the online consultation form? And what's in it? 
We've been through the online form and here are some screenshots.

You are then asked to work through a series of online questions - they are generally mutli-choice, some have a maximum number of things you can tick, and many have text boxes where you can add your thoughts.

We think this question (below) (Question 15 on our version but the question numbers can change) is a useful one for sharing your priorities for the area. 
You'll see that clicking on a choice in the provided list can prompt the survey to open a text box that invites you to type your expanded thoughts about why you made that selection.
(Please note: the screenshot below shows what ICW clicked - but please do decide for yourself what if any of the choices you want to select.)

This question (question 21 on our version) is another very useful opportunity for you to say what is important to you about Te Ngakau/Civic Square and the priorities you want the Council to consider.

And please do pause and think about the opportunity this question - (Question 22 on our version but the question numbering changes depending on your choices as your work through the form) - offers you.
This question is the chance for you to go beyond the constraints of the form's structured questions.

It's the only place in the form where you can upload your own file - (Word or PDF or Excel etc) - through which you can 'speak' directly to the Council about what you want to happen.  

We hope this ICW email encourages you to say expressly that you do not want the up to 12-storey commercial building in our Civic Square to go ahead. But what you write is your choice.

Your document doesn't need to be long or complicated - feel free to cut and paste text from this ICW document if you feel you'd like to. And we are reassured that the Council considers all the information provided - including what is in the separate documents that people might upload here. 

And the good news is ...
That before you click 'submit' you have a chance to review all your responses and you can tweak them. You use the 'previous' button to click back through your answers.

SUMMARY

Is it too late to suggest this 'no building wanted' idea?  
No, it's not too late.

  • The Council has only reached the point of a possible provider for a building. No contract has been signed.

  • And at the meeting, Councillor John Apanowicz confirmed this.

  • So did the Council's Chief Operating Officer. 

How do we tell the Council we want this 'no building is wanted' idea?
Simple. We use the Te Ngākau consultation process to let the Councillors know.

  • Even though the replacement building is not in the consultation documents, everyone can add their thoughts to their submission.

  • At the meeting, both Councillor Apanowicz and the Council's Chief Operating Officer said this was the best way to let the Councillors know what we want.

Don't we need the new building to house the Councillors and Council teams (because they were in the old MOB & CAB buildings before)?
No.

The Council has leased the old Datacom Building on Jervois Quay for 25 years. The Councillors and Council teams move into it next year. There is a need for a small appendix to be added to the Town Hall to serve as a green room, toilets etc. and that could happen at no cost to the Council if they wished.

Is making a submission a hard thing to do?
No

  • We've provided some ways you can do it above which we hope makes it easy to know what to do.


We are so close …

We have all contributed in some way to the work to date. So now imagine the rewards when, in a year or two…

  • the hoardings come down and we have an upgraded Town Hall full of activity, music and life again

  • our Central Library is returned to us for our quiet enjoyment

  • and our City Gallery's work has been done so that we can again experience creative works from our city, country and the world. 

And imagine the space that opens up when these two buildings -
called MOB and CAB - are gone.

This opportunity is in our hands now

  • We could say nothing and let the fresh, new space
    that demolishing these buildings enables become an up-to
    12 storey commercial building that would tower over the
    Civic Square, with loss of light, flexibility and public space.

(image courtesy of Y Byors, Year 13 student, Wellington College)

  • or we could use the freshly available land to create a flexible civic, green and enhanced public space in the heart of the city for all to enjoy: "Te Ngakau - the green heart of the city"

We hope you will take the time to be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity that ICW believes could make a real difference to our city.

Ngā mihi
ICW - Inner-City Wellington
website: www.innercitywellington.nz
email: innercitywelling@gmail.com