Diane Calvert, who holds Wellington City Council’s economic development portfolio, said both developments were “great news” for the capital. The Amora and the massive James Smith carpark building behind it are both owned by Primeproperty Group. Chief executive Eyal Aharoni said his company was negotiating with major global brands about the future of the building. “Amora will be back to a five-star level hotel,” he said. “It will have a new facade on it and it’s going to be like a new building.”
MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
Lichen grows on the facade and windows are grubby with grime at the Amora Hotel, which has been closed since 2017.
Wellington councillors vote to investigate car-free central city by 2025
12 May, 2021 11:07 PM
2 minutes to read
Wellington CBD. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington issues reporter, NZ Heraldgeorgina.campbell@nzme.co.nz
Wellington City councillors have voted to investigate a move that would effectively ban cars from the central city by 2025.
A notice of motion, led by climate change portfolio leader councillor Tamatha Paul, asks council officials to prepare a report that explores a fossil-fuel-free CBD.
It was supported by all councillors apart from Nicola Young and Diane Calvert. Mayor Andy Foster was not present for the vote.
Paul told councillors at a meeting today her vision for the city included pedestrianising it, decarbonising, and opening up the streets for people.
There are no specific proposals for what the changes could look like yet, as these will be prepared by council officers.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
Wellington city councillor Tamatha Paul led the push for the car-free central city proposal to be investigated. “I think this is our job as leaders, to set a vision. We don’t have to be the ones who engineer what that looks like,” Paul said. Sean Rush, a usually conservative councillor, pointed to international cities including London and Venice as an example of what Wellington could be. “It’s a very liberating feeling to be walking around in a city without motor vehicles,” he said. “There are parts of our CBD that cry out for pedestrianisation. It will be challenging to do the whole of it, but I support the work.”
The investigation was launched in November following a complaint from councillor Jenny Condie, one of the councillors Foster tried to share the information with. The information contained Foster’s notes from a phone conversation in April 2019 with a former staff member, in which that person alleged another former staff member had pressured council officers to deem the narrow Shelly Bay Rd suitable for the development. Councillors will now decide whether they agree with the report’s findings that Foster had breached the council’s code of conduct, and that he should be censured for the breach and apologise to the former staff member.
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster s fate to be decided in public
13 May, 2021 01:54 AM
4 minutes to read
Wellington City mayor Andy Foster. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington issues reporter, NZ Heraldgeorgina.campbell@nzme.co.nz
Wellington City councillors have voted to discuss the findings of a code of conduct complaint against mayor Andy Foster in a public setting this afternoon.
Council officials advised deliberations should be held behind closed doors, but councillors overturned that at a meeting today.
The complaint, made by councillor Jenny Condie, claimed Foster shared potentially defamatory and previously discredited information before a controversial Shelly Bay vote.
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Condie said the mayor called her to his office before the vote to show her information that would change her mind about Shelly Bay.