Clause 20 COUNCIL 12. 03. 2015 COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 10. 2. 2015 A meeting of the Communities, Housing and Economic Development Committee was held in Committee Room 1 on 10. 02. 2015 at 8.04am PRESENT: Councillor Andrew Turner (Chairperson) Councillors Glenn Livingstone (Deputy Chairperson), Jimmy Chen, Jamie Gough, Yani Johanson, Ali Jones and Paul Lonsdale APOLOGIES: Apology received from Councillor Lonsdale for lateness, who arrived at 8.06am and was absent for clauses 4 and 14. Apology received from Deputy Mayor Buck for lateness who arrived at 8.10am and was absent for clauses 4, 14 and part of clause 5.1. Deputy Mayor Buck later left the meeting at 11.42am and returned at 12.43pm, and was absent for part of clause 2 and clauses 3, 15 and 16. Apologies for lateness and early departure were received from Councillor Gough who arrived at 9.35am and left at 12.56pm, and was absent for clauses 4, 14, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, part of 5.4 and part of clause 17. Councillor Jones arrived at 8.35am and left at 12.50pm and was absent for clauses 4 and 14, part of clause 5.1, and part of clause 17. The Committee reports that: PART A - MATTERS REQUIRING A COUNCIL DECISION 1. CENTRAL CITY LANDMARK HERITAGE GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ALLOCATION OF THE CARRY FORWARD OF THE 2013/2014 FUNDS. Contact Contact Details Chief Planning Officer Chief Planning Officer Y EA Diane Campbell, 8281 responsible: Strategy and Planning Officer responsible: Natural Environment and Y PA Michelle Oosthuizen, 8812 Heritage Unit Manager Author: Brendan Smyth, Acting Y 8934 Heritage Team Leader 1. PURPOSE AND ORIGIN OF REPORT 1.1 Council staff are seeking a recommendation for the allocation of a Central City Landmark Heritage Grant. 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2.1 This report proposes a grant towards the repair of a significant heritage building – the former Community of the Sacred Name Convent at the corner of St Asaph and Barbadoes Streets. The building includes the Cyril Mountfort designed wooden chapel. The building is now in new ownership and is to be used as the Christchurch base of the Home and Family Trust. The chapel will remain in use and will not be re-modelled (refer to the Statement of Significance in Attachment 1). COUNCIL 12. 03. 2015 COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 10. 2. 2015 Photograph of the interior of the former convent chapel, December 2014 Architect’s Sketch of proposed exterior of Home & Family building from St Asaph Street. COUNCIL 12. 03. 2015 COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 10. 2. 2015 1 Cont’d 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 The series of earthquakes occurring in the Christchurch region since September 2010 has resulted in the most significant loss of central city heritage and character buildings in the history of Christchurch. This loss of heritage heightens the importance of opportunities to retain, repair and strengthen those remaining buildings having a significant connection to the past. 3.2 The Council’s “Draft Central City Recovery Plan, December 2011”, provided for increased heritage funding of $27.7 million to be allocated over 10 years via the Annual Plan process. The plan provided the initiative to take a pro-active approach with owners to achieve the retention of key central city landmark heritage buildings – including listed buildings and facades. 3.3 In 2012/13 $2.7 million was allocated to the former Trinity Congregational Church and the Benjamin Mountfort designed two-storied wooden building within the Christchurch Club site. In 2013/2014 $800,000 was allocated to the West Avon Apartment building. In 2014 $1.755 million was allocated to two projects, Victoria Mansions and St Michael’s Stone Classroom block. 3.4 The recommendations of the report align with the relevant strategies and policies listed below: . Christchurch Recovery Strategy . The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan . The Christchurch City Plan . Council’s Heritage Conservation Policy . Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy . New Zealand Urban Design Protocol. 3.5 The Landmark Grant scheme is aligned to the Community Outcomes ‘The city’s heritage and taonga are conserved for future generations’ and ‘The central city has a distinctive character and identity’. Landmark Grants contribute towards the number of protected heritage buildings, sites and objects, which is a measure for these outcomes. 3.6 In dealing with Landmark Grants, Council Officers have applied a wider meaning to the term ‘Reconstruction’ than that contained in the International Council on Monuments and Sites New Zealand Charter 1993 for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value (ICOMOS NZ). If the Charter definition was employed strictly, it is unlikely that a willing grant recipient could have been indentified given the level of damage to many buildings. More weight is placed on the reconstruction of heritage items which contribute to landmark and streetscape values, city identity and sense of place. 3.7 The Heritage Protection activity includes the provision of advice, the heritage grants schemes, heritage recovery policy, and heritage education and advocacy. The Council aims to maintain and protect built, cultural and natural heritage items, areas and values which contribute to a unique city, community identity, character and sense of place and provide links to the past. The Council promotes heritage as a valuable educational and interpretation resource which also contributes to the tourism industry and provides an economic benefit to the city. COUNCIL 12. 03. 2015 COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 10. 2. 2015 1 Cont’d 4. COMMENT 4.1 There are approximately 140 listed heritage buildings remaining in the Central City, at least 25 of which are still under potential threat of full or partial demolition. Council Officers have prioritised buildings using the criteria in the Landmark Grant guidelines and the ability of the owner to take up the grant and undertake the required works. A number of heritage buildings have not been considered further where they have other sources of finance or remain under the control of receivers. Council owned heritage assets are not eligible for Landmark Grant funding. The identification and selection process has resulted in the following buildings being identified as good candidates for repairs and worthy of funding: . State Insurance, Worcester Boulevard . McLean’s Mansion, Manchester Street . Community of the Sacred Name, Ferry Road . The Midland Club, Oxford Terrace . Harley Chambers, Cambridge Terrace . Public Trust Building, Oxford Terrace . Sargood Son and Ewan building, Lichfield Street (with receivers) . The former Wellington Woollen Mills, Lichfield Street (with receivers) 4.2 Discussions were carried out with the building owners and, in the case of the Sargoods and Wellington Woollen Mills, with the receivers. The receivers were not able to confirm the future status of these buildings. For high priority buildings the owner’s intentions to retain, repair and reconstruct were determined, the scope of works proposed, and the costs and timetables for the works established. 4.3 It is proposed to partially fund the repair and upgrade of the former Community of the Sacred Name building at the corner of Barbadoes Street and St Asaph Street – listed Group 1 in the Christchurch City Plan and registered Category I with ‘Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’, registration 4387. This two storey building was built in phases beginning circa 1894 with the last phase being a single storey masonry extension on the south-western side. 4.4 The former Community of the Sacred Name Building has been identified as having strong architectural integrity and distinction particularly in the form of the Cyril Mountfort designed chapel. The chapel includes distinctive lancet shaped stained glass windows and an unusual fully timber lined interior. As it was a convent, the building was screened from public view for most of the last century with high, solid fencing around the entire site boundary. The building remained in the same use and has been largely unaltered for many years and is therefore an excellent record of architecture from the turn of the twentieth century. 4.5 The building suffered damage from the recent series of earthquakes with the collapse of chimneys and a portion of brick wall on the western side. However, the bulk of the building is timber framed with match board internal lining and this has performed well throughout the earthquake sequence. The current strength of the bulk of the building has been assessed as approx fifty per cent of New Build Standard (NBS) and the building is not classed as earthquake prone. The building needs repairs and remodelling to allow it to function as the new base for the Home and Family Trust. As part of the remodelling the organisation are aiming to include a public café accessed from St Asaph Street. COUNCIL 12. 03. 2015 COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 10. 2. 2015 1 Cont’d 4.6 The building has been transferred into the ownership of the Home and Family Trust on an ‘as is where is’ basis and hence there is no insurance payout to fund the earthquake repairs. The proposal is to conserve, repair and seismically strengthen the building for use as an office and counselling facility. The proposed repair and upgrade work has been estimated at $2,600,000 exclusive of GST (Rawlinson’s Quantity Surveyors in November 2014). A substantial amount of work is required to the sub structure of the building in order to upgrade and modernise the foundations. The superstructure requires less work but will be strengthened with a number of different structural methods. These actions should strengthen the building to 100 per cent of NBS. A further key component of the works is to install a new fire sprinkler system which will protect the timber buildings against the considerable risk of fire.