Wellington's Chinese garden and playground given green light after Environment Court throws out appeals

Monday, 9 April 2018

The Environment Court has dismissed appeals against a proposed $5m Chinese garden for Wellington's Frank Kitts Park.

Wellington's proposed Chinese garden has been given the green light, with the Environment Court throwing out appeals against the project.

The decision means Wellington City Council can now also forge ahead with its plans for a new waterfront playground and upgrade of Frank Kitts Park, which had been held up by the legal battle.

The 3000-square-metre garden is part of a proposed $10.5m Frank Kitts Park revamp.

Work on the playground looks to start immediately, but the Chinese garden could still be years away, and increasing construction costs could push out the budget.

The proposed $5 million Garden of Beneficence – part of the council's planned $10.5m revamp of the park – was opposed by lobby group Waterfront Watch and former Greater Wellington regional councillor Michael Gibson at a four-day hearing last month.

Wellington City Council can now get on with the redevelopment of Frank Kitts Park and playground following an Environment Court decision giving a proposed upgrade project the go-ahead.

**READ MORE:

* Scathing criticism of proposed garden

Councillor Andy Foster, who holds the urban development portfolio, said the council was seeking advice on up-to-date costs and budgets for the garden.

* Garden would have 'minor' impact

* Chinese Garden on the backburner for 2017

The view towards Frank Kitts Park from the intersection of Lambton Quay and Willeston St, which Waterfront Watch says will be spoiled by the proposed Chinese garden.

* Council takes big swing with new playgrounds**

The 3000-square-metre enclosed garden, which would be funded by the Chinese Garden Society with support from Wellington's sister cities Xiamen, Beijing and Tianjin, raised concerns about safety, a loss of green space, and impeded views towards the park and Wellington Harbour.

But the Environment Court on Friday denied the appeals, and ruled resource consents for the project should be granted.

Wellington Chinese Garden Society chairman Harvey Wu said the court decision removed a hurdle and would allow it to push on with fundraising.

'Quite a bit of money' had been raised, but he would not say how much, or how long he excepted it would take to raise it all.

There had been a lot of interest at the start of the proposal, but the legal proceedings had created uncertainty, he said. Sources of funding were waiting for clarification before pledging.

'We now have pledges and commitments to call in … I am confident we will raise the balance of the $5m target.'

Councillor Andy Foster, who holds the urban development portfolio, said the council would probably allow a couple of years for the organisers to stump up their share, and not allow the project to drag on.

In the meantime, the council would be seeking advice on current costs; looking at what it could achieve with the original budget and what the inflated budget would look like, he said.

Money would also have to be spent on deferred maintenance for the car park.

The council has earmarked $6.2m, in year seven of its 10-year Long-Term Plan, for the Frank Kitts Park garden.

It has also set aside $2.5m of funding for the playground, with work planned to start late this year or early next year.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said he was pleased to see the court decision stressed the redevelopment would have only positive outcomes for Wellington.

'I'm delighted that we can now immediately commence work on a destination children's playground in the heart of Wellington's waterfront.'