Opinion: Wachner Place looms as contentious vote

The reason I didn’t think that it would prompt the discussion it has is because Wachner Place, in my view, has held little appeal as a public place for a long time now.

Wachner Place, should it stay or go?

Opinion: I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect the Wachner Place topic to create the debate it has.

But the democratic process is well and truly alive in Invercargill, and that should be encouraged.

Here’s a bit of background to start with.

The Invercargill City Council has been consulting on what to do with Wachner Place and Lower Esk St.

The spotlight has been hovered over that part of town largely because of hotelier Geoff Thomson’s development. He is turning the old Menzies Building behind Wachner Place into a 4.5-star Distinction Hotel.

The council is looking at what is the best way to integrate that hotel development in with the rest of the CBD, including the Invercargill Central development.

When it went out for consultation the council’s finance and projects committee chair Grant Dermody said: “We need to think about how we welcome visitors to our city and connect them to the city centre. Making the entrance through Wachner Place as engaging as possible is critical.”

All of the options put forward by the council has the clock in Wachner Place being removed and the area opened up.

One option includes vehicle access from Dee St through to Leven St, another has it being opened up but for just pedestrian access.

The council’s preferred option is to allow a one lane bus access from Dee St, through where Wachner Place is now, to Leven St.

The reason I didn’t think that it would prompt the angst it has is because Wachner Place, in my view, has held little appeal as a public place for a long time now.

It’s underutilised and Wachner Place’s neighbour is a State Highway.

It felt like it would be one of those council consultation processes that will roll on with little fuss.

I was wrong, and I probably should have known better.

Just 13% of the 170-odd submitters agreed with the council’s preferred option to allow a one lane tour bus access run through where Wachner Place is now.

Amongst the few that did support the council’s preferred option was a desire to see the area improved, to make it more attractive for tourists and visitors, and to support the private investment in the hotel.

Mark Frood - on behalf of Great South - advocated for the council’s preferred option, stating: “The better we can make the visitor experience … for Distinction Hotel and Hostel will enhance our CBD and therefore our regional offering”.

But the view was in the minority.

Many submitters raised significant concerns that opening up Wachner Place would lead to the creation of a wind tunnel on Esk St, suggesting that was partly why it had been built in the first place.

A large number suggested the focus should be on improving Wachner Place and putting on more events there, rather than demolishing it.

Many respondents consider Wachner Place a valuable open public space or consider it to be Invercargill’s town square.

Several submitters urged the council to remember the legacy of Wachner family. Two parcels of land were donated to the Invercargill City Council by Mabel Wachner, the wife of former Invercargill mayor Abraham Wachner.

That led to the establishment of Wachner Place which was officially opened by then mayor Eve Poole in 1989.

To be fair, I hadn’t given that a lot of thought prior to listening on Tuesday to people speak passionately about the need to respect Mabel Wachner.

I’ve got soft spot for ensuring the people of our past are recognised. I’ll come back to that later in this column.

With all that said, what we now have is an intriguing decision for Invercargill’s elected members to make when they come to vote on what tp do with Wachner Place Esk St West.

While other projects might come at a bigger cost, this could actually turn out to be the most contentious decision to date for the current council.

I don’t think I’m overstating that.

It is understood the vote was 9-6 in favour of the preferred option prior to consultation. Remembering that preferred option was for a one lane tour bus access from Dee St to Leven St

Included in that six who voted against that option, is understood to have been mana whenua representatives Evelyn Cook and Pania Coote.

When it comes to the final vote at a full council meeting, they won’t have voting rights. You would think that would make it 9-4.

However, where the intrigue will be is how many of those nine councillors are swayed by the weight of the public submissions against the preferred option.

That’s where the contentious bit might be.

Councillors don’t have to run with the majority of feedback from public submissions. If they are adamant that they better understand the situation and their preferred option is best for the city, they can vote that way.

It’s happened before. Mayor Nobby Clark likes to point that out.

He recalls the majority of submitters asking that the council reopen the museum, but the council opted not to.

The risk though, if the council is not swayed by the submission process, it can make a dent in the trust attached to future consultation.

Be prepared for people to trot out the “waste of time” line more often.

Many in Local Government have used that line themselves when dealing with the Three Waters Reform with Central Government.

My opinion really doesn’t matter, I’m just another ratepayer. But for what it’s worth, here are my thoughts.

I don’t have the same sort of affection for Wachner Place as some.

I can’t really see it ever being the public gathering place that some might have hoped it would be, largely because of that fact its neighbour is a State Highway.

I’m not as averse as some to the idea of opening the area up to help enable private investment in the city.

But….Yes, there is a ‘but’. A couple of ‘buts’ actually.

Invercargill’s CBD is in desperate need of a decent public gathering place with green space where people aren’t competing with cars.

Many submitters during the time the council looked at investing into the Invercargill Central development asked that green spaces etc be included in the project.

They weren’t, and probably never were going to be. Invercargill Central is a commercial development where retail space is the priority.

If the council choose to do away with Wachner Place as a gathering space, there needs to be a commitment that they will now thoroughly investigate the prospect of developing a new “town square” type space elsewhere.

The revamped Esk St and Don St somewhat provide that when they are closed off for special events.

But the city requires a day-to-day open space inner-city gathering point, where people can meet for lunch in a grass setting, and they are not in competition with cars.

Where buskers, artists, book readers, can go about their business on a sunny day.

Where would that be? That is the unanswered question that needs investigating.

My other ‘but’ is the need to honour the Wachners.

As mentioned, I have a soft spot for honouring our past and that is what I took from the submission hearings.

If Wachner Place goes, there needs to be a commitment to ensuring the Wachners’ legacy is acknowledged.

That could be the introduction of “Wachner Lane” or a prominent plaque in the area. Whatever it might be.

Oh, also.

Surely in this day and age there is some sort of expert that can explain to the council if that wind tunnel theory is a thing or not. That is probably worth sorting.

It’s over to you now councillors, we all await your decision.