Heritage campaigner Allan Matson, who gained historic recognition of the Fitzroy Hotel, is now in a new fight to stop it being demolished.
Heritage campaigner Allan Matson, who gained historic recognition of the Fitzroy Hotel, is now in a new fight to stop it being demolished.
Frantic talks are underway to rescue Auckland’s oldest surviving hotel building from being demolished.
A dangerous building notice has been placed over the neglected and derelict Fitzroy Hotel to make it safe by November 10. If that doesn’t occur, the building at Wakefield St in the central city could bedemolished.
The Fitzroy Hotel was built in 1855 and is listed as a Category A building by Auckland Council and on the Heritage New Zealand list as a Category 1 building.
It was built by brickmaker William Parker and once owned by Richard Secombe, whose company merged with another brewery to create the forerunner to Lion Breweries. It was also home to Wakefield Press during the 1960s, publisher of literary figures including James K Baxter, Rex Fairburn and Maurice Shadbolt.
Heritage campaigner and Waitematā Local Board member Allan Matson yesterday told Auckland councillors the building was of “significant value” but faced possible demolition after falling into neglect.
An early 1900s image of the Fitzroy Hotel in Wakefield St.
He said the building notice meant it had to be made safe by propping or demolishing, and urged the council to look at options to save it, including using the council’s Built Heritage Acquisition Fund to purchase it.
Even if the council paid for the propping, Matson said, the cost would be set against the title which meant the owner would pay through a reduced sale price.
Matson claimed the overseas-based owner was not in a position to pay the $100,000 to $200,000 cost of temporarily propping the building for any consequential seismic work, and was a willing seller.
Matson campaigned for five years between 2004 and 2009 to save the Fitzroy Hotel and get its historical significance recognised, and last week he tabled an urgent notice of motion on its immediate future at the Waitematā Local Board.
Mayor Wayne Brown yesterday told the governing body that senior staff were meeting later in the day with other parties to discuss options for the hotel.
The Herald is seeking comment from the council about the meeting and options for the hotel.
Meanwhile, a plywood fence has been erected around the Fitzroy Hotel building as a safety measure, closing off some lanes on Wakefield and Lyndock Sts.
