The Wellington Lego User Group brought 120 exhibitors together from Auckland to Invercargill to showcase their plastic artistry at Palmerston North's Central Energy Trust Arena from Friday to Sunday.

An impressive replica of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and former Erskine College building has been a focal point of Brickcon, taking out best in the show of the weekend's exhibits.

Painstakingly built to represent the historical accuracy of the building in Island Bay, Wellington - which has since been converted into apartments - Frank Averes has stacked more than 250,000 bricks over nearly a year to bring the miniature version to life. Read more

96 townhouses are to be constructed on the site.

As part of the overall development, the chapel is to be restored at the cost of $7 million.

Development manager Earl Hope-Pearson said the feeling was positive as work was able to begin.

"After 18 years of ownership from the Wellington Company, and various court cases, we're finally working."

Parts of the chapel, which is yet to be strengthened, have been protected from construction.

Heritage items have been taken out of the chapel and put into a secret location so that they're protected.

Some religious icons in the chapel were destroyed by vandals in 2016.

Strengthening of the chapel was expected to start in August or September, said Hope-Pearson.

When the restoration is completed, it will be used for funerals, weddings and other functions.

The project has been predicted to cost $30m, but Hope-Pearson did not have a final total cost of the development.

The eventual development of the site would accommodate about 250 people.

Erskine College was built in 1906 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and was a Catholic girls' boarding school until 1985.

An Environment Court decision recognised the college was of "outstanding heritage significance."

However, it approved the demolition of the convent and school buildings.

But a condition of the Environment Court consent was that the chapel must be strengthened before any other work, including demolition, can take place.

The decision said: "The chapel, main building, and Reverend Mother's Garden are of special architectural, cultural, social, technical and aesthetic significance.

"The chapel is the finest neo-Gothic interior in New Zealand. The Reverend Mother's Garden is a garden space with high values."

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

The plan is part of a proposed $30 million 94-townhouse development.

Councillor Andy Foster, chairman of the transport and urban development committee, said early estimates that put the costs of the houses between $500,000 and $700,000 might appeal to first-home buyers.

Previous owners of the Erskine site, the Hibernian Catholic Benefit Society put forward a plan to build and sell houses for under $1000,000 and also to preserve the grounds and save the chapel says a former manager of the Hibernians in a letter to the editor in Saturday's DomPost.

He asks why Foster opposed that plan.

Councillor Nichola Young, who is an alumna of Erskine College, when asked to comment said that because of the the earthquakes in Christchurch, "seismic issues very different now."

The Erskine complex was purchased by the Hibernians in 1986.

They parcelled off land around the edges of the site and sold it for residential housing.

The Hibernian Society planned to eventually develop the Erskine site as a retirement village.

In 1992, however, the Hibernian Society submitted an application for resource consent to strengthen the chapel walls, which would be needed if the other part of the proposed work was carried out: the demolition of the main convent building.

This proposal stirred up a huge amount of feeling amongst the community. and gave rise to the formation of the Save Erskine College Trust.

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Reaction to the present proposal.

In response to an inquiry the Save Erskine College Trust Inc said, " a general statement will be made via our website and/or Facebook in due course"

Island Bay Residents Association president Vicki Greco said the association was pleased the Cassels' company had decided to make plans available.

It would allow the community to talk about any issues that arose around the plans she said.

Heritage NZ central region general manager Claire Craig said the organisation hoped to maintain a "constructive dialogue" with Cassels about his proposal.

"We also look forward to hearing the views that the council, as decision maker, receives as feedback from the community on the proposal for the chapel and the removal of the main building."

A council spokesman said it received a formal application for the development only last week.

"Our planners still have several weeks in which to consider the application - which is complex. If consent is given, then the developer will have 12 months to get the project under way."

The Erskine College site was declared a special housing area in April 2015.

The 2013 Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act stipulates a streamlined consenting timeframe, including a reduction in notification provisions and appeal rights.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

"Adjacent to the Majestic Centre, St. Mary of the Angels Church has been closed since 2013 because of safety concerns."

"A planned NZ$3 million earthquake strengthening project includes 50 new rock anchors—cables drilled into the ground to anchor the building against the upward thrust of a quake."

"Reinforced concrete beams encased in fiberglass will replace eight of the main columns in the church."

"'It's a moral obligation,' said Dave Mullen, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese in Wellington."

The article also talks about Project Stronger, the Archdiocese of Wellington's plan to upgrade all its earthquake prone buildings.

Red stickered Erskine College, which is describes as a 110-year old French Gothic building, also gets a mention.

Source

www.wsj.com

Many councillors were unhappy about the recommendation but it was finally approved by a vote of 9 to 6.

The move is part of the Wellington Housing Accord signed with the Government last year.

Special housing areas will have fast-tracked consenting conditions, with either no or limited public notification, and limited appeal rights.

The Government can also override the council and declare special housing areas without agreement.

The dilapidated buildings on the site of the college have been the subject of long wrangling, with a standoff between the Wellington Company, which owns the buildings, and Save Erskine College Trust, which is the heritage protection authority for the site.

Developer Ian Cassels, of the Wellington Company, is developing two of the special areas, at Erskine College and Shelly Bay.

In March Cassels said the company was "very, very keen" to keep the chapel and was working on possible ways to retain the college building. The plan was to develop two-storey and three-storey townhouses on agreed parts of the grounds, "but it's relatively early days".

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

In 2012 the building was red-stickered as an earthquake risk, and might be demolished by Wellington City Council within a year unless the trust agreed to his latest plan for the site, Cassels said.

He says he had already spent $1.5 million on the site, and would not invest more, only to have his plans blocked at the last hurdle.

Cassels has proposed a $15m to $20m townhouse development, and would use the resulting profits to preserve the chapel, reverend mother's garden and a quarter of the four-storey convent building, all of which would be gifted to a trust.

He would not financially benefit from the arrangement, he said.

Nat Dunning from Save Erskine College Trust, said there would be no urgency to decide the college's fate if Cassels would repair the building instead of practising "demolition by neglect".

The trust was open to a housing development on the site, but its mission was to preserve its heritage, he said.

Heritage New Zealand and the Wellington City Council supported most of Cassels' plan, but want him to preserve more of the convent building.

Erskine College was built in 1905-06. It was called the Convent of the Sacred Heart until the late 1960s, when it was renamed in honour of former Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Mother Janet Erskine Stuart. The school closed in 1985.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Panaramio.com

There is graffiti on the gothic stonework, windows and doors. There's graffiti in places that would have involved a determined person, who was probably channelling Spiderman, to create.
The windows are boarded up, broken or covered in dust. Continue reading

The question asked is "Which Wellington heritage building would you like to see saved?"

Morrison invites members of the public to:

• Visit the poll

or

• Have their say and post photos of their favourite historic building/s to Morrison's Facebook page wall or to Twitter: @JohnMorrisonNZ #SaveOurBuildings

In his electioneering material Morrison says,"If elected as Mayor in October, I will be saving the best of Wellington's heritage buildings and the city's historic Cuba Street by setting up a process that will enable building owners to raise finance exclusively to strengthen their buildings.

"The borrowings or bonds will be backed by the assets of Wellington City, but to protect ratepayers they will be attached to building titles and paid back through a special rate."

• Read more

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

The Wellington City Council was warned yesterday that its hand may be forced if the building owners failed to act.

Earthquake resilience manager Neville Brown told councillors the preferred step was to work with owners to come up with a solution, but if none could be found the next step was to seek a court order for either strengthening work or demolition.

"If we don't get results, then we might see ourselves going to court to get approval to demolish the building."

Continue reading

Through the wrought-iron gate the Reverend Mother's Garden would have the good nun turning in her grave.

Century-old pohutukawas spread splendidly above, but weeds smother the plantings, broken glass flecks the path. Even a water pipe has become a canvas for bored taggers.

The path's destination is Island Bay's Erskine College - the imposing Gothic building that for 79 years housed several hundred schoolgirls, moulding some of New Zealand's top female minds: former Environment Court judge Shonagh Kenderdine; broadcaster Maggie Barry; comedienne Ginette McDonald; politician Winnie Laban; photographer Anne Noble. Read more

Sources

• Stuff
• Image: Wellington Scoop

When the Learning Connexion was based at the College, Mr Buck graduated from an art course there and developed a great affection for the history and design of the building.

He has begun a campaign on Facebook to save the endangered Category One historic building from being pulled down. He considers that it would be a disaster if the building were to be destroyed.

"Everyone has just been focusing on the cost of repairing such a structure, but no one has looked at the cultural and historical hole that will be left if it's destroyed," he said.

"People have to remember that once it's gone, it's gone, and we're never going to get it back."

Mr Buck has detailed the features of the inside of the building. This enables people not only to appreciate its condition, but also how beautiful it is in spite of its damaged state. He has sought support from Wellington City Council, Erskine's owners (The Wellington Company) and other organisations; there has been little response thus far.

"I'm just one guy without experience in running such a campaign, but it's a cause I hold really close to my heart. I'm starting to see the support base for this grow, so it would be great to really do something with it."

It is hoped that once the Facebook group has grown, an e-petition would be set up through the Council to encourage Erskine's owners to discuss possibilities for earthquake strengthening.

The cost of such strengthening could be offset to some extent by using the building as a film-set or wedding venue.

Mr Buck said that ideally the chapel and the former convent building would be saved and restored.

He said that saving the site was a big task and that getting discussion into the public arena was an important start.

"As long as Erskine is saved, I don't care how long it takes. I'm in this for the long haul."

Sources

• The Dominion Post
• Image: Wellington Scoop

Erskine College was a Catholic Girls School which closed down in the 1980s. It was used by an Art School until Feb 2009. The chapel continues to be used for weddings.

Once a building is classified as earthquake-prone, the building owner may choose to strengthen it, or if appropriate, demolish all or part of the building.

With restoration costs likely to be millions of dollars, property manager for The Wellington Company, Murray Anderson, said the council would have to go ahead with red-stickering the century old property.

Red stickers indicate a building is unsafe for people to occupy.

Erskine is protected by a heritage order. Any work to be carried out would need the written consent of its heritage protection authority, the Save Erskine College Trust.

Save Erskine College Trust was established in 1992 as the result of a public meeting held in Island Bay. It was recognised as a Heritage Protection Authority under Section 188 of the Resource Management Act (1991).

Trust secretary Maggie Kennedy said they had not been notified by the council of the impending red stickering, which raised concerns about what The Wellington Company had planned for the site.

"We're concerned they want to demolish the main building to put cheek by jowl townhouses right under the chin of the chapel, which would completely crowd it out", she said.

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Panoramio.com