Heritage protection likely to be granted next week will be able to save the vacant Holy Cross Catholic seminary from demolition.
The Church had planned to demolish much of the Mosgiel building – unaware that Heritage Protection would save it.
No to demo
Former leaseholder – Taste Nature owner Clinton Chambers – deserves thanks for the building’s last-minute reprieve.
That’s because, unknown to the Church, he had applied for it to be given heritage status.
He had nominated the buildings for heritage protection when he applied to the Dunedin City Council for a grant so he could make repairs to its roof.
Chambers was hoping to transform the seminary complex into a holistic health and sustainability centre and community hub.
But his plans came to nothing last month when the Church declined his proposal for the seminary complex’s future.
Despite missing out on his business plans, Chambers is welcoming the seminary’s likely protection as a “very worthwhile step in the right direction” for a building with “significant heritage value”.
Knock it down
Chambers says he didn’t know the Church told him it was considering knocking the seminary down until some time after he nominated the building for protection.
“I said what are you going to do with the property? They said that there were a number of options and one of them was demolition.”
Just which parts of the building were in the Church’s sights for demolition is not clear.
However the Catholic diocese’s Dunedin operations manager Paul Olsen said the part of the building known as the Burns Block (chapel, pictured) was a “recognised historic building worthy of heritage protection” and there were no plans to demolish that part.
The new heritage asset
A Dunedin City Council spokesperson said a heritage assessment for the seminary has been completed.
The spokesperson said the building has been proposed for inclusion on its heritage schedule. That schedule will be announced next week under a district plan change.
The seminary includes a commercial kitchen, a dining room, a large chapel, a lecture theatre and accommodation for 100 people.
The council spokesperson said a decision about a heritage grant to repair the building had been deferred until after its status has been reviewed.
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