After a decade of dedication, working towards saving the NG building from being demolished to make way for the new stadium, it has been concluded that moving the NG building to a new site will not be possible.
The building, the last heritage building of its type left in Christchurch, was to be demolished by the Crown. However, after successfully obtaining interim orders from the High Court to stop the seizure and demolition of the NG building, an agreement was reached with the Crown to relocate the building instead. The NG Building was to be moved and had to be at the new site within a year, June 2022.
Since then, Mr Roland Logan worked with a team of specialist engineers, planners, movers, and builders to achieve a viable fully funded solution to successfully relocate the building given its size and structure using a proven truck & trailer system1. Mr Logan and his team worked hard to overcome Covid delays and difficulties, and were ready to begin work. Unfortunately, the stadium project consortium could not accommodate the new route for relocation of the NG Building, despite its shortened time frame from 4 weeks to a matter of hours, as they cited wider impacts on the rest of the project timeline.
Mr. Logan said he wanted to thank the Stadium Oversight Board and CCC/ECAN consenting team for their support, and their endeavours to try to assist the move. Mr Logan said, “we have come up against Stadium design and construction arrangements that preclude flexibility.”
Mr. Logan said “It’s disheartening that built historical heritage is not better protected in New Zealand. Heritage New Zealand did not assist in saving the building even though the NG Building has significant heritage value”. It was erected in 1905 and was commissioned by New Zealand’s Agent-General in London. It is the only surviving warehouse in Christchurch designed by the prominent architect JC Maddison. The High Court had earlier ruled “The NG Building represents a now rare example in Christchurch of the way in which nineteenth century architects used the language of historicism to give architectural dignity to buildings of essentially utilitarian function”.
It’s been a long, arduous, and stressful 10 years and we want to thank everyone involved in helping us. Parts of the NG Building will be kept so that the memory of the Building does not fade. Logan and his wife, Sharon Ng, say they “know the building has meant a great deal to many people in Christchurch and beyond for the last 117 years, including us”. They are grateful for the support of their community that rallied to help them seek to save the building.