Bye bye bridge: Wellington City to Sea bridge demolition confirmed

Thursday, 5 December 2024

The demolition of the City to Sea bridge has been confirmed with the council voting to replace it with a pedestrian crossing.

One councillor’s amendment to save the bridge was not enough, but a judicial review complaining about council officers processes could still be its saving grace.

Wellington City Council’s environment and infrastructure committee met today to vote on whether or not to go ahead with the demolition of the bridge and nearby Capital E building next month.

The option voted on was the preferred option by council staff and would cost the council $36.5 million.

Two options, both involving the bridge’s demolition, were the only options for councillors to vote on before Iona Pannett handed in her amended substantive at the eleventh hour.

Pannett’s amendment involved deferring all other recommendations until February 20 next year, except for the Town Hall loading dock an the critical Capital E wall.

Pannett was not a fan of the pedestrian crossing, and believed the council needs more time to make a decision.

It was a close call, with votes to not delay the decision failing by 8 to 10.

The extra time would have allowed staff to work further with engineers, architects and designers and develop a cost-effective solution to strengthen the bridge.

Council staff said the financial implications of any delays would be significant and financially reckless with an estimated $53 million added back into the recently amended long-term plan.

Ben McNulty asked how the council could do this when they were falling short of their funding requirements for Wellington Water, which was $2.5 billion while they allocated $1.8b.

“It costs $1500 per resident for the money we are putting into the Town Hall … the fact we are considering this is almost malicious.”

Tim Brown was “completely shocked” some councillors did not have any “moral regard”.

“I’m amazed the city council had dithered on this for 13 years and would like to dither longer.”

Mayor Tory Whanau said she did toy with the idea to delay until next year but she trusted officers’ advice.

Laurie Foon believed the decision had come about too quickly.

“It needs a little more space to settle and more time to kōrero around a few more tables.”

Rebecca Matthews disagreed, saying it had been around for long enough.

“It’s ridiculous and too hard of an ask for our team to present new information over the Christmas period.”

She said the council engagement process from the public was “unequal” and “cherry-picked,” with most Wellingtonians wanting the bridge gone for the sake of their rates bill.

Matthews was scathing of architect and urban designer Angela Foster's reference to the demolition of the bridge as being a symptom of financial mismanagement and benign neglect of the city's assets by councils over the past 20 years.

“The path appears to be to demolish or close any financially unproductive assets, the Begonia House, Wadestown community hall, Arapaki, to name a few …” Foster said.

“We shouldn't be demolishing, we should be adding. We have to build a city before we start destroying it.”

“I'm interested in you characterising us as demolishers of things …” Matthews shot back.

Foster said the city lacked a long-term vision, something that was too late for her children, but was vital to her grandchildren's generation.

Legal advice to councillors today affirmed there will be no legal implications for voting for its demolition.

Initially, $90m to $120m was needed to re-strengthen the bridge and demolish the former Capital E building, but last minute figures revealed the cheapest cost for maximum resilience was $85m.

Legal challenges from flaws in the council officers’ process were presented in a letter by Helene Ritchie, chair of the Wellington Civic Trust and Sylvia Allen, board member of the Wellington Civic Trust.

If the review went through, staff advised it could blow out any work on the bridge by more than a year, which would impact the completion of the Te Ngākau Civic Precinct.

The concerns lie with information that, according to the letter, should have been included in the report to the committee by council officers but had not been

“Any decision to proceed with the demolition of the City to Sea Bridge will be invalid and unlawful unless and until those flaws have been addressed and a lawful process followed,” the letter said.

The earthquake risk rating being used is a lesser risk than council claimed has also been debated, but council staff have disputed this.

The classification for a level 3 earthquake risk is when more than 300 people occupy the space. But how often the bridge has more than 300 people on it was a back and forth dispute.

The classification did not involve how many times there was more than 300 people. It was “a clear case,” given the bridge is 754 square metres, staff said.

Council officers recommended to demolish the bridge after it was labelled earthquake-prone.

Action on the bridge was considered top priority compared with any other building in the Civic Square, due to the fact it hangs over a key arterial route for emergency services in the case of an earthquake.

The bridge is known for its harbour views, iconic art and for being the main pedestrian crossing between the city and the harbour when the waterfront was newly opened.

The bridge vote follows public consultation for the redevelopment of Te Ngākau Civic Square including options for the City to Sea Bridge, Michael Fowler Centre, Jack Ilott Green, City Gallery, and the landscaping of the square and adjoining areas.

The bridge’s demolition would require intensive planning and would take between a few days to a week. They were looking at holiday periods with less traffic on the roads.

How they voted:

Yes: Tory Whanau, John Apanowicz, Tim Brown, Laurie Foon, Sarah Free, Rebecca Matthews, Ben McNulty, Teri O’Neill, Geordie Rogers Liz Kelly, Holden Hohaia.

No: Diane Calvert, Nureddin Abdurahman, Iona Pannett, Tony Randle, Nīkau Wi Neera, Nicola Young.