Chaffer’s Park Campaign—Press Releases

Chaffers Group Applauds Full Park Design But Slams Alternatives

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 1997

Campaigners for Chaffers Park have applauded the plan unveiled by the city council last night for a full park on the 8-acre Chaffers site between the new museum and Oriental Bay.

Spokesperson Mary Vamham said the waterfront design team had come up with a strong, elegant design which incorporated many of the features Wellingtonians had asked for, such as a large, sheltered picnic and events area, interesting gardens of native and exotic plants, and a skate park for young people.

'If the council goes ahead with this plan, and we hope they will, future generations of Wellingtonians will have a wonderful city park to use and enjoy,' Varnham said.

However the group is horrified at three alternative plans which the council will also consider for the Chaffers site. In one, a smaller park would be bounded by a wall of five-storey apartment and commercial buildings along Cable Street and Oriental Parade

Another would create an island of buildings along the waterfront, based around the existing Herd Street post office.

The fourth would combine both options, creating a small park walled in on three sides, with the museum on the fourth side.

Chaffers spokesperson Mary Vamham said it was dismaying that, when public consultation and surveys had consistently shown overwhelming preference for green, public space on the waterfront, the council could still privatise up to two-thirds of the Chaffers site.

'This would be terribly shortsighted. When you add these buildings to the 30 or so new buildings planned for the rest of the waterfront, you're talking about massive commercial development.

'Who's driving this? Certainly not the public, who have consistently said they want the waterfront largely kept in public hands and reserved for public use,' Vamham said.

The group is calling on the council to rescind its earlier decision not to have any further public consultation on the waterfront.

'We're being subjected to some very high pressure salesmanship, but underneath the glossy public relations what's really being proposed is the alienation of large areas of public waterfront land in exchange for a few quite limited public spaces.

'The council has no mandate for this. It must consult the people of Wellington fully before it proceeds any further.'

For more information contact MARY VARNHAM, PHONE 385-8083 or e-mail us at chaffers@freemail.co.nz

LHM Scare Tactics Criticised by Waterfront Watch

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 13, 1997

Waterfront Watch has called on the Mayor of Wellington to make a clear statement on the financial implications of the public's demand for open space on Lambton Harbour.

President Lindsay Shelton was responding to statements by Lambton Harbour Management about the "cost" of open space on the waterfront.

"This week's statements by Lambton Harbour Management seem to be scare tactics, in opposition to the public's clear demand for lots of space on the edge of the harbour," said Lindsay Shelton.

"The public does need to know the financial implications of the design options.

"But LHM's late presentation of worst-case scenarios is not informing the public - instead it seems to be aiming at frightening people.

"The Mayor's reported suggestion of selling the council's stake in the Wellington Airport Company and using the proceeds for waterfront development demonstrates that there could be other alternatives for financing the waterfront, rather than turning it into a high-rise development site.

"On the subject of development, I find it disturbing that the Chaffers options 2, 3 and 4, as distributed this week, propose a wall of buildings between the city and the water.

"Plans which would have the effect of walling the city from its harbour were totally unacceptable in the previous LHM proposal, and were one of the reasons for the establishment of Waterfront Watch.

"Such a wall of buildings is, I believe, even more unacceptable now after the long period of public consultation.

Mr Shelton said that Waterfront Watch members will be meeting on Sunday afternoon. to discuss the newly released design proposals for the waterfront; a consensus of their views will then be given to the CCC, as part of its survey of public response to the new plans.

FURTHER COMMENT: Lindsay Shelton (Day) 385 7686 (Night) 384 6034

Chaffers Campaigners set up Web site on the Internet

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 1997

Chaffers Park - Make it Happen! now has its own web site on the Internet.

The group, which is campaigning for the whole of the Chaffers land to be retained for a public park, says it has set up the site so the public can get accurate information on the current waterfront proposals, and say what they think of them.

'Right now the public are being subjected to a campaign of disinformation by Lambton Harbour Management, who appear determined to sell Chaffers against the wishes of 84% of Wellingtonians,' spokeswoman Mary Varnham said.

'The company has dug itself into a financial hole and now wants a quick sale of public land to get out of it.'

The group says losing Chaffers would be a tragedy as it is the last chance Wellington has to create a large green park in the central city.

Spokesperson Mary Varnham disputed claims by the Wellington City Council that all four current design options for the included such a park.

'Options two, three and four are abominations. Once you take away the roads and service areas for the proposed apartment buildings, all you're left with is small so-called public spaces overlooked by five- to seven-storey apartments buildings.

This would be great for property developers, who could charge enormous amounts for apartments with open space in front of them and lovely waterfront views. Indeed some of the buildings even have their own enclosed green park.

But it would be a betrayal of the wishes of Wellingtonians to preserve the land as a heritage for future generations.'

Varnham said the percentages of open space given for each Chaffers option in a council newspaper supplement were grossly misleading.

'What we need to talk about is quality usable open space, especially green space. The Chaffers area is the size of a par four golf hole. Sell off up to 60%, as the city council proposes, and you're down to a putting green.'

See the web site for Chaffers Park.

Lindsay Shelton (Day) 385 7686 (Night) 384 6034

Two Thousand Apartments Planned for Chaffers

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 1, 1997

Public consultation a farce, say park campaigners

Two thousand luxury apartments are planned for the Chaffers waterfront site, according to the group campaigning for the site to be reserved for a park.

Chaffers Park - Make It Happen! spokesperson Mary Varnham said it was well known in business circles in Wellington that sale of the prime waterfront site was virtually 'a done deal'.

The group had persistently received reports that plans had already been drawn up for a massive development of high-rise buildings containing up to 2000 apartments.

This made a mockery of the public consultation process being carried out by the council-appointed Community Consultative Committee to determine what Wellingtonians wanted on the site.

'The whole thing is a farce. Survey after survey has shown that the people of Wellington are strongly opposed to residential and commercial development of Chaffers,' Varnham said. 'They want the whole site retained in public ownership and developed as a green park.

'Yet Lambton Harbour Management, seemingly unrestrained by the city council, is continuing to promote sale of the land to property developers.

'Quite frankly, the CCC is just a pawn to soften up the public. Big business appears to be calling the shots.'

Mary Varnham said Wellingtonians were being misled by being shown plans which highlighted a few design features on the waterfront, while glossing over the real issue - that nearly half the waterfront would be privatised and covered in buildings up to ten storeys high.

'Those harmless-looking little grey patches on the pretty pictures in effect represent a wall of buildings blocking off the waterfront from the city, destroying views and severely restricting public use.'

Hundreds of people had written to the group saying they wanted the whole of the Chaffers site used for a public park.

'People are terribly disillusioned. They are passionate about the beauty of the harbour and can see what a tremendous asset a green park would be to the city, now and in the future.

'They're shocked at the council's lack of vision, and its apparent readiness to flog off Chaffers to bail LHM out of its financial mess.'

'Wellingtonians have participated in the waterfront consultation process in good faith. If the council wants to ignore their wishes, they should resign and call a fresh election.'

For more information contact MARY VARNHAM, PHONE 385-8083 or e-mail us at chaffers@freemail.co.nz

Wellingtonians React with Shock and Outrage to Chaffers Plan

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 8, 1997

Wellingtonians have reacted with shock and outrage to a recommendation by the council's Community Consultative Committee that a massive apartment development be allowed on the Chaffers site.

People at yesterday's Thorndon Fair [December 7] seemed stunned by the news. Public surveys have consistently shown more than 80 percent of Wellingtonians want the whole site reserved for a park, and it had been widely expected that the committee would recommend this to the council.

However it told the council on Friday that it preferred Option Three, under which buildings from five to seven storeys high would be built along Cable Street, Oriental Parade and the east side of the new museum, blocking off the harbour from the city and dramatically reducing the amount of land available for public use.

Chaffers Park - Make It Happen! spokesperson Mary Varnham said the result made a mockery of the consultation process. 'The committee represents a very small number of organisations, and includes individual members with no constituencies at all. A year ago it recommended a casino on the waterfront, even though most Wellingtonians were opposed to it. Now it's telling the council to sell public land which people overwhelmingly want kept for a park.'

Varnham said her group had talked to hundreds of people at the fair, and found only three who supported apartment buildings on the Chaffers site. The rest were passionately opposed. This paralleled numerous surveys, including a recent poll of Wellington Central voters by Alliance MP Phillida Bunkle, which showed 83 percent support for the 100 % park option.

In less than an hour, 50 new members had joined the Chaffers Park campaign, and more than 80 people had written postcards to Mayor Blumsky in support of Option One, the 100 percent park.

'The CCC's recommendation is so bizarre and out of step with public opinion, the city council has no choice but to set it aside and commission a professional public opinion survey - something the CCC refused to do,' Varnham said.

'The waterfront belongs to all Wellingtonians and the council would be extremely foolish to sell or develop it any further without their consent.'

Varnham said it was almost unbelievable that, when public outrage at the bulk and ugliness of the Events Centre and Retail Centre had to a year-long waterfront moratorium, the CCC would now propose the erection of 31 buildings two to four times taller, along the entire waterfront from the Railway Station to Oriental Bay.

For more information contact MARY VARNHAM, PHONE 385-8083 or email us at chaffers@freemail.co.nz