Looking up worth the pain

I have developed a bit of an annoying crick in my neck, and I blame Wendy Pettigrew. Well, not so much her but the idea that she planted in my head.

You see, the Wanganui historian and driving force behind the Whanganui Summer Programme of events around the area led a group of curious enthusiasts up The Avenue last week.

In Saturday's story about the event, Ms Pettigrew made sure to point out the dilemma we face as a centre with significant heritage buildings that will prove costly to strengthen.

She urged us all to turn our eyes upward to take in the splendour of these many buildings, and the less appealing state of others.

So that is what I did. Not for the first time, I must say, but it was quite eye-opening wandering along, gazing intently at the many splendid facades and wondering at their history.

The next time The Avenue's history walk is on, I must make sure I am free as it sounds like an entertaining and informative stroll through our city's past.

But as pleasant as it was wondering at the origins and modifications made to the buildings, I was reminded of another insight offered by Ms Pettigrew: that most of the buildings would require significant investment to protect in the event of an earthquake.

This is something that has come to the fore since the devastation in Christchurch and is an issue we simply will have to confront.

Wanganui District Council is aware of the need to identify and assess various buildings according to how they are used, what level of protection is required, and how much that will cost.

It is no small task and will take considerable time and consideration. As well as the council-owned buildings, the issue of how to deal with those in private ownership looms large.

Ms Pettigrew believes the Government may have to intervene because the scale of work is beyond us. However, it is unlikely that all buildings will be able to be brought up to the required specification.

That is why it is worth heeding Ms Pettigrew's call to start looking up now, and decide which of the buildings we wish to keep and which are expendable. There is no doubt that our city centre will not look the same in 20 years as it does now, but we all must take the opportunity to have our say in what that future cityscape might be, and pressingly that will likely be defined by our ability to afford the required work.

We all have a vested interest in this, and surely that is worth a small amount of neck pain.

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