Newspaper Article 1984 – Duart House new council chambers

Duart House new council chambers

Havelock North Borough Council have decided in principle to go ahead with a move to Duart House.

The decision was made at the April Council meeting, after discussion of a report presented by the Mayor, Mr Harry Romanes, and the Town Clerk, Mr W. M. Pedersen.

A move is necessary, not only because the existing Council offices are overcrowded and in need of repairs, but also because the Council has planning and contractual obligations to remove the existing office building from its site in order to provide extra car-parking.

A feasibility study prepared by local architect, Neville Norwell, indicates that Duart House would be well-suited for conversion to office accommodation. It is structurally sound, has fairly recently been re-roofed and re-piled, and is large enough to accommodate Council staff. Access to the building needs to be improved, as does the parking area. The total cost of conversion and upgrading will be $175,000. Neville Norwell of Kingsford, Sands, Norwell and partners will draw up the plans. A loan will be sought for the improvements, and the cost of servicing the loan will add 1½% to the rates. This would be much cheaper than building new Council offices, which would cost between $300,000 and $400,000.

Surrounding residents have been asked what they think about the proposed change; there have been no dissenting comments, and just one non-committal response. The people whose properties adjoin the Chambers Street extension reserve have said that they would not object if access were to be provided through the reserve to Duart House.

Cr Shanley and Cr Booth both mentioned that they would welcome more expression of public opinion on the move. They want to know what the people of Havelock North think, and to hear their suggestions.

Duart House is more centrally situated than the existing Council building in relation to the borough boundaries. There is no point in the borough which is more than 3 kilometres from Duart House. However is it 1.2 kilometres by road from the commercial area of Havelock North, which is the focal point of the community.

A survey was carried out to establish whether people would find the distance from the centre inconvenient. The results showed that the great majority of people who sought services from Council travelled by car, made the trip specifically for the purpose of going to the Council office, and were therefore unlikely to be worried by the distance. However people paying bills or rates were more likely to be travelling on foot and to be combining the Council visit with other errands in the village; they would therefore be more likely to find the distance inconvenient. Solutions have been suggested. After the move people may be encouraged to pay rates by mail, or at a receiving office in the library.

Meantime formal approval must be obtained before the move is made. The Duart House grounds are a reserve within the meaning of the Reserves Act. The area has an underlying zoning of Residential A. The proposed use as Council offices is not compatible with either the zoning or the designation. Cr von Dadelszen described two options available to Council. They can either promulgate a scheme change, which would take several months, allowing for objections and cross objections, or they can ask for specified departure, which puts them in the “Alice in Wonderland” position of asking themselves for permission. Cr von Dadelszen stressed the need for objectivity in this delicate position; justice must not only be done but be seen to be done.

Cr Kale however, pointed out that Duart House is under-used at the moment, and that anyone who can come up with a sound proposal would probably have had it approved without too many problems.

A sub-committee was appointed to make day to day decisions on the move with a duty to return to Council when a full decision is required. Members are Mr Romances [Romanes], Mr Pedersen, and Councillors Kale, Shanley and von Dadelszen.

One way or another, the move to Duart House will be made as soon as possible.

The Havelock North Borough Council will then have one of the most attractive settings in New Zealand for local government offices. Mr Romances states definitely that aesthetically the building will not change.

Photo caption – Duart House . . . to become our new Borough Council chambers.