Tinui hotel shift gets the nod

The proposed removal of the iconic Tinui Hotel has got the nod from Masterton District Council planners ahead of a resource consent hearing on Tuesday about the shift.
Masterton District Council planning officer Tyler Ross said in a report the building represents a brief period of Tinui history and holds little public esteem or value, symbolically or spiritually.
"Having considered the application and visited the site, I am satisfied that the effects of the proposal on the historic heritage of the building, the site, Tinui village and the Masterton district will be minor," Mr Ross said.
It is of minor significance to Maori, he said, and is not associated with any historical events or people.
Mr Ross said the hotel ? one of five Tinui structures listed as Category II heritage items ? is remote from the other heritage buildings, is not considered architecturally important and is not representative of commercial hotels of its era.
"The proposal to relocate the accommodation building of the hotel will not compromise the wider heritage values of the Masterton district.
"The loss of the hotel would not diminish the heritage values of the Tinui village, which has a long history that predates the hotel, nor will it create a precedent for other buildings of historic value to undergo similar relocation," Mr Ross said.
His recommendation will be among submissions to be heard at Tuesday's consent hearing before commissioner Richard Fowler, along with another in support of the proposal by architect Barbara webster and her husband, Duncan Galletly, who want to shift the building to Greytown for use as a family home.
Nine submissions opposing the planned removal will also be heard, including a warning from conservation architect Russell Murray that the proposed shift would "rip the heart out of Tinui".
In his report, Mr Ross recommends the granting of a resource consent to remove and relocate the two-storey building conditional on the site and remaining building being left tidy and repaired, with a plaque installed at the landscaped area showing a photo and description of the building.
He said the retention of the building by the present owners would be a financial liability that affects the current owners' wellbeing.
"The accommodation building is considered to be outdated, and is likely at the end of its economic life," he said.
The accommodation building is not considered viable as a business, he said, and the lack of potential income "for an isolated hotel located within a flood zone" will likely lead to further deterioration "possibly to the point where it has to be demolished".
Mr Ross said the site "will lose some visual character" after removal of the building, but this would be lessened with landscaping of the area.
The two-storey Tinui Hotel accommodation block was built on the site in 1931 and was the third hotel to stand in the small community since 1872, the first two buildings having been destroyed by fire.
In 1969 a worker's cottage was joined to the two-storey building and is now used as a public bar.