The process, which will be carried out over the next couple of days, is the first in a three-stage relocation that will relocate the creche to its new home 15 metres west of its current resting place and 3.2 metres higher. Continue reading

The category-1 heritage listed building at 18 Buckle St will be rolled to the back of its site and then lifted to a new position on a higher level.

The creche, on the northern corner of the Basin Reserve, is the last remnant of the Catholic precinct that used to be in the area and included St Anthony's Soup Kitchen, St Joseph's Home for Incurables, St Joseph's Church and St Patrick's College.

The building is presently all boarded up and is being strengthened in preparation for the move which will take place from May to June

Memorial Park Alliance community relations manager Brian Aspin said the creche was a significant building in the area."It's a physical reminder of the life and beliefs of the nun Mother Suzanne Aubert," he said.

"Her pioneering social work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries made her an important figure in New Zealand history."

The building was the first of its kind in New Zealand, because it was built specifically to care for children while their low-income mothers were at work.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: New Zealand History online

"The church is a focus for calm contemplation and worship by its parishioners," Wellington barrister Trevor Robinson said.

He said it was the church's view that construction activities should stop during services.

"It is difficult to think of a more noise sensitive daytime activity than a church."

He added that "A loss of parking and the presence of large machinery on the site were other potential problems."

St Joseph's church was built less than 10 years ago, after extensive consultation with the then Transit New Zealand, Mr Robinson said.

NZTA now sought to take back some of the land it had transferred to the parish to allow the new church to be built.

"While St Joseph's has had a lengthy and largely cordial consultation with NZTA working through the issues, the church would wish to record that it is disappointed and somewhat aggrieved to be in this position."

NZTA's lawyer Andrew Cameron told the board of inquiry that progress was being made behind the scenes.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Wellington scoop

Father Gerard Burns said the parish was still not "completely comfortable" with how the NZ Transport Agency's $90 million project would affect the church on the corner of Brougham and Ellice streets.

The church building itself had been constructed with the noise of the area in mind, he said.

It was likely the flyover would require the church to give up some land on its boundary, which would reduce its car parking, Father Burns said.

In return, the church would seek assurances from the agency that construction noise would not disrupt funerals and Sunday services, he said.

Father Burns said losing car parks would force parishioners to park elsewhere in Mt Victoria and walk to the church, which raised issues around safety.

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