Crossways Listed

The day many local residents and Crossways users have dreaded has arrived, with Harcourts beginning its marketing of our iconic neighbourhood house. The sales process is being run as a tender, with bids due to close on Wednesday 6 August.

Bill Southworth, Chair of the Crossways Community Trust, is remaining upbeat about the chances of the community purchasing the building, and said that a strong bid would be made by the Trust, supported by a benefactor Trust, Kiwibank, and the fundraising efforts of local residents.

Mr Southworth noted that “now is the chance to make a contribution to the campaign, as we only have three weeks remaining - so if you’ve forgotten to make a donation or a pledge, now is the hour!”

HERITAGE LISTING

A heritage listing has been placed on the Crossways community house in Mount Victoria, making redevelopment of the property exceptionally difficult.

“This is excellent news because it means the building is highly unlikely to be purchased by a developer bent on moving it or knocking it down to build town houses,” said Mr Southworth.

Crossways has been put on the market by St Andrews Presbyterian Church to raise funds to refurbish its hall and meeting rooms on The Terrace. The trust is trying to purchase the building so it can continue to house the local crèche and community centre.

Following submissions from Mount Victoria residents, the Wellington City Council’s heritage listing committee has recommended giving Crossways formal protection under the District Plan, because of its historic, social and architectural significance.

Notwithstanding recent media reports to the contrary, groups currently using Crossways are finding it extremely difficult to find alternative venues in which to meet. This is despite earlier assurances from city council officers that they could easily be housed elsewhere.

There are about 40 groups using Crossways. Despite weeks of searching, the majority of these groups have been unable to find suitable alternative accommodation.

“They have found that Council-owned venues are already booked in the evenings. It seems the council has no complete database of halls and facilities available to the public,” Mr Southworth said.

“It is bad enough that the groups must now be dispersed to many unconnected meeting rooms across the city that have no affinity with the Mount Victoria community. Now they are also having to face the fact that they may not find anywhere suitable at all,” Mr Southworth said.