Council proposes pulling $21m funding for major Wellington waterfront development

Wellington City Council is considering pulling its $21 million funding for a major waterfront redevelopment project, as it eyes rates cap spending cuts.

The council has today unveiled its second tranche of recommended cuts, after earlier proposals to slash funding to Te Papa, shut community libraries and phase out school swimming subsidies.

It includes removing $21.4m of funding related to the development of a Chinese Garden and Fale Malae, a landmark civic building, both proposed to be built in Frank Kitts Park.

The proposal was supported by five votes to three at the council’s cost-cutting working group, with further decisions to be made through the council’s Long-term Plan next year, when the public will be consulted on proposals before the 10-year plan is adopted in late June.

Plans for a Chinese garden on the city’s waterfront go back to 2000, when the council signed a memorandum of understanding with the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government to build a garden in the city.

Opposition to the garden saw the issue taken to the High Court, which ultimately threw out the appeal and gave the project the green light.

The Fale Malae, which would be a “visually stunning” Pacific cultural centre on the city’s waterfront, had been given $10m in central government funding in 2020.

Both projects have been granted a joint resource consent.

Council papers released today show the working group “recommend removal of $21.4m of funding relating to LU 2067 Wellington Waterfront Development for the Chinese Garden Project and Fale Malae”.

Working group chairman and Deputy Mayor Ben McNulty said the project was currently funded through further borrowing.

“The two of them are in quite different stages in terms of being ready to proceed,” he said, with the Fale requiring “a lot more fundraising”, whereas the Chinese Garden was “more ready to go”.

The Wellington Waterfront Walkway alongside Frank Kitts Park. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“Really, the crux of it for now is to take that funding allocation out and then actually find out what the status is of those projects,” he said, noting the council has asked for an update on the projects early next year.

“Potentially, that might mean decoupling or some redesign or re-engineering to allow the Chinese Garden to proceed early,” he said.

McNulty said the council’s $21.4m contribution was currently earmarked for “levelling Frank Kitts Park”, including demolishing the carpark and doing groundworks.

He said if the recommendation progressed, it would not necessarily mean the projects would be off the table.

“They’ll still be projects within the Long-term Plan ... we’d keep them on the books for planning, but until we’ve got more certainty from them and their ability and readiness to go, it’s not going to be something we put a dollar of allocation against.”

Asked whether the council had spoken to representatives for the projects about this proposal, McNulty said “this will probably be news to them today”.

Councillor Rebecca Matthews, who also sits on the working group, said she was concerned about what this recommendation could mean for the projects.

“The Chinese garden has been delayed many times,” Matthews said.

“If we support projects, we should include them in our budget.”

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.