Last rites for New Lynn icon

The death knell has sounded for one of the west's oldest buildings. Rebecca Lewis and Valerie Schuler report
At long last, the fate of the historic New Lynn Hotel has been decided. The 126-year-old building will be demolished. A thorough inspection of the building by a heritage architect found its decaying structure to be similar to that of "Weetbix", and Waitakere City councillors voted last week to knock it down. The West Auckland Historical Society and the Historic Places Trust have both agreed to the demolition. Trevor Pollard, from West Auckland Historical Society, is sad to see the hotel go, but says it is the best option for the decayed building. "I remember going past it as a young boy when it was a doctor's room; it used to be such a popular place back in the day," he says. "But all the joinery was ruined in a fire a few years ago and the dampness got in and damaged the bricks - I'm surprised it hasn't fallen down on its own." Councillor Derek Battersby is also upset to see one of Waitakere's oldest monuments bowled over. "It was almost past saving but, nevertheless, we had to explore every option to rescue and restore it anyway," says Mr Battersby. "This we have done and, regretfully, the council has been advised that it is just not viable. The building is beyond economic repair." Earlier this year, The Aucklander reported on initial plans to restore the building as a childcare centre, but Waitakere Properties, the council's property arm, decided this was too dangerous. "It may still be possible to develop a childcare centre on the site in the future," says Dai Bindoff, public affairs manager for the council. "Waitakere Properties became increasingly concerned about the viability of the restoration given the hotel's advanced state of decay." Any plans to build a replica of the hotel have also been scrapped because of the poor condition of the bricks. ''If you were to build a replica you would need to replace virtually all the bricks, replace all the mortar, construct new concrete foundations and a solid concrete floor,'' says Mr Bindoff. ''The point is that there would be very little of the original building left and the replica would be like a Disneyland recreation of the past.'' Waitakere City Council purchased the Great North Rd property in 2006 for $650,000 to protect its heritage values when previous owners wanted to demolish it. Demolition will begin once the council has resource consent. This is likely to take at least six months.