Press Release: Save the Basin Campaign Congratulates Wellington City Council

A artist’s impression of what the Sussex Street side of the Museum Stand could look like after refurbishment, including a new entrance for the NZ Cricket Museum.

Save the Basin Campaign applauds Wellington City Council’s proposal to save the historic Basin Reserve Museum Stand.

“Not only are they keeping it, earthquake-strengthening it and restoring its unique heritage features, they are creating a greatly enhanced facility”, says STBC co-convenor Joanna Newman.  

“If this plan is approved by Council, the Museum Stand will be better for spectators, provide many more facilities, and make the world-renowned NZ Cricket Museum easier to access both on match days and non-match days.”

The Basin Reserve is one of the world’s best cricket grounds, but it’s not just about cricket. From junior rugby on Saturday mornings, to functions in the RA Vance stand, to a quiet place to sit and have lunch, the ground is used day and night, and all year round.

With assistance from the Basin Reserve Trust, Wellington City Council has come up with a proposal that is affordable, responsible and forward-looking. Renovating and improving the Museum Stand ticks all the boxes.

By restoring and giving the Museum Stand new life, the Council is recognising the special place this Heritage New Zealand registered site has in the hearts of Wellingtonians and people around the country. 

“We can continue to be proud of this unique community and cricket venue and of its custodianship by our City”, says Joanna.

Further reading

Restoring it, not bowling it

What’s The Basin Reserve Flyover Issue All About?

In case you’re new to the issue, here’s a quick introduction to what’s being proposed for the Basin Reserve, why the Save the Basin Campaign is opposed to it, and what you can do to help.

What’s the Basin Reserve?

The Basin Reserve is a recreation ground near the centre of Wellington. It is best known for being Wellington’s Test cricket ground, and has often been praised for its setting and its beauty.

What’s proposed for the Basin Reserve?

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), as part of the current New Zealand Government’s focus on building more motorways rather than funding public transport, walking and cycling, is planning to build a 10-metre-high one-way motorway flyover on the north-western boundary of the Basin Reserve at an estimated cost of at least $100 million. If built, it will be clearly visible from many parts of the ground.

Hang on a minute, did you say “one-way”?

It’s bizarre, but true. All this effort, expense and disruption is for the sake of a one-way road, running east to west. In fact, one of the many concerns about this proposed flyover is that it, if built, it may need to be followed by a second unsightly flyover running in the opposite direction.

What effect would a flyover have on cricket at the Basin?

Nobody is quite sure, but a number of senior international cricketers and cricket officials have expressed serious concerns at the potential effects on players, and also on the Basin’s future as an international cricket ground. We’re told that ‘mitigation measures’, mainly in the form of a new structure designed to block the view of the flyover from the pitch, have been agreed, though details have yet to be released of this agreement, but these measures don’t appear to shield the flyover from many fielders or spectators.

Why does NZTA want to build a flyover?

The NZTA is trying to convert the present route through Wellington to Wellington Airport into a motorway designed to carry increasing numbers of cars, even though traffic volumes are dropping. It wants to build a flyover as part of this route, and has been determined to do so for many years, despite a great deal of evidence (that will be presented at the forthcoming Basin flyover hearings) showing that a flyover is not necessary. NZTA has deliberately skewed figures to make other transport solutions appear not to be viable.

Was there any consultation before NZTA went ahead with its plans?

If you can call it consultation: NZTA gave Wellingtonians the option of agreeing to a flyover, or a slightly different flyover. NZTA ignored the many submissions calling for there not to be a flyover and then announced one of the flyovers as the preferred option. This is, sadly, typical of NZTA’s approach to engaging with the public.

What happens next?

The Government has set up a Board of Inquiry to hear the resource consent application to build what NZTA persists in calling a Basin “Bridge” – presumably because it realises the public doesn’t like flyovers. The Board of Inquiry hearing is scheduled to begin on Monday 3 February and is expected to report by the end of May. Save the Basin Campaign and an number of other organisations are presenting detailed cases covering why a flyover is unnecessary and shouldn’t be approved.

We hope that this Board of Inquiry will fully and carefully consider the question of whether the flyover should go ahead. However, the Government set up the Board of Inquiry process to fast-track projects it wants to see go ahead, and so far, that’s what Boards of Inquiry have done.

If the Board rules that the project should not go ahead, it will have made the right decision. And if it rules otherwise, we still have other legal avenues open to us.

You keep saying the Government is behind this project. Do all political parties support it?

Absolutely not! In fact, five parties have stated their opposition to a Basin Reserve flyover: Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First, the Mana Movement and United Future. It’s entirely possible that the Government that emerges following the 2014 General Election may be opposed to a Basin Reserve flyover going ahead.

How can I help?

We’ve listed a number of ways, but the two most important things you can do are:

Community turns out to show opposition to proposed Basin Reserve flyover

The Wellington community came out today to show their ongoing opposition to the proposed construction of a flyover at the Basin Reserve.Approximately 30 people gathered this morning at the northern end of the Basin Reserve near where the proposed flyover will be constructed if it gains approval from the Board of Inquiry.

Tim Jones, Co-convenor of Save the Basin Campaign said: “The community came out today to show their support for–and solidarity with–the many people preparing their representations to the Board of Inquiry. The streamlined legal process is not for everyone, so today’s event was an opportunity to illustrate the wider community’s opposition to the proposed flyover.”

The West Indies test match which began at the Basin Reserve today was also an opportunity to share with an international audience the NZTA’s plans to construct a flyover at what former Wellington City Councillor and New Zealand Cricket player John Morrison has called a top ten test match playing venue in the world.

Tim Jones says “This is a site of not only national, but also international significance and we cannot allow the NZTA to bulldoze through it with a flyover that will simply not bring the purported traffic benefits. It is terrible transport planning, poor urban design and simply not acceptable at a site of national and international significance.”

Along with many other submitters in opposition to the proposal, the Save the Basin Campaign is in the midst of preparing a case to the Board of Inquiry. The hearing will begin in February with a decision due by the middle of 2014.

Ends
Contact: Tim Jones
027 359 0293
stoptheflyover@gmail.com

Take A Stand Against The Proposed Flyover: Wednesday 11 Dec, 9.30am, Basin Reserve

Save the Basin Campaign invite you to show your support for keeping the Basin Reserve precinct a ‘flyover-free zone’. Like the majority* of Wellingtonians, we do not want a flyover at the Basin Reserve. We are calling the community to come out in force to show solidarity with the over 150 individuals, businesses, schools, churches and community groups that will be presenting their opposition to the proposed flyover to the Board of Inquiry.

What: Together we take a stand against the proposed flyover
When: 9.30am, Wednesday 11th December
Where: At the north-eastern corner of the Basin Reserve (near the Kent Tce traffic lights)

A flyover would dominate the view from St Mark's School - With thanks to Wellington Scoop
A flyover would dominate the view from St Mark’s School – With thanks to Wellington Scoop

Please bring placards, banners, t-shirts and whatever you have to show your solidarity with those people making submissions to the Board of Inquiry.

* 83% of submissions to the Environmental Protection Agency oppose NZTA’s application to construct a flyover at the Basin Reserve.

Join the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/183481505184236/

Double Or Quits? We Call Quits.

There was such a flood of flyover-related news over Christmas and New Year that we thought you might like a little summary – see below. One story that deserves more attention, as reported by Wellington Scoop, is that NZTA has said it is thinking of building not one but two flyovers: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=51395

In NZTA’s little game of “double or quits”, we  say “quits”. Quit now, NZTA, before you waste even more taxpayer money on ugly, outdated, massively expensive and utterly unneeded monuments to 1950s transport thinking.

Other news and views you may have missed:

 

 

 

 

Chris Moller Conflict Of Interest: The Story Widens

Wellington Scoop, which broke the story of Chris Moller’s conflict of interest as both the chair of New Zealand Cricket and the chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency, is now reporting further developments in the affair. As NZTA Deputy Chair Patsy Reddy scrambles to put a lid on the issue, digging into NZTA Board meeting minutes is uncovering what appear to be notable inconsistencies.

Keep up with the latest developments here: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=51598

NZ Cricket Chair Admits Conflict Of Interest Over Basin Reserve Flyover Plans

Chris Moller, who chairs both New Zealand Cricket and the New Zealand Transport Agency, has admitted that he has a conflict of interest over NZTA’s proposed Basin Reserve flyover, which will seriously affect the viability of the Basin Reserve as an international cricket ground if it goes ahead.

Lindsay Shelton of Wellington Scoop first drew this conflict of interest to public attention: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=51235

Now, as Lindsay reports: http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=51558, NZTA has written to Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown admitting that Moller, who is best known for his and his board’s disastrous mismanagement of the New Zealand cricket captaincy issue, has a conflict of interest, and saying that he will no longer be involved in discussions over Basin transport options.

This admission is a welcome development, but it begs some very big questions: Has Moller been involved in discussions so far when he and his Board surely knew of this conflict of interest all along? If his involvement is inappropriate from now on, then was it not inappropriate from the start?

Plus there’s the continuing question: why should a board chair who has made such a mess of New Zealand Cricket be trusted to make anything better than a mess of New Zealand’s transport system?

We eagerly await further revelations about this conflict of interest. In the meantime, it’s also notable in Wellington Scoop’s latest report that NZTA are now trying to sweet-talk Wellington City Council over its pre-Christmas vote to reject the flyover and explore alternative options, having failed to bully them into submission.

Here’s a helpful hint for NZTA’s PR flacks: you’re supposed to show the velvet glove before the iron fist, not the other way around.