The Native Land Court building in Whanganui was approved for further funding of up to $110,000 from the Whanganui District Council. Photo / Bevan Conley
The restoration of the only remaining Native Land Court in the country got an extra boost in funding, with the Whanganui District Council voting to loan as much as $110,000 to the project.
In an extraordinary meeting, the council agreed to provide the building’s owners with seed funding of $60,049 to go towards repairing its roof, as well as working capital up to $50,000.
The building on the corner of Rutland St and Market Pl was constructed in 1922 and has Category 1 status with Heritage New Zealand, meaning it has special or outstanding historical cultural significance.
It was bought by the Whanganui Heritage Restoration Trust in 2020 and the council previously loaned the trust $175,000 in July 2020 to purchase it and a further $100,000 in September 2020 for assessment work.
Recently the trust discovered rainwater damage inside the building because of its degrading metal roof and gutter and subsequently applied to the Lotteries Grants Board for funding to repair it.
The board required confirmation of at least one-third of the total cost being secured before considering the application, requiring the need for an extraordinary meeting.
Working capital was also requested to allow the trust to pay for regular costs like rates and insurance, as well as further remedial work outside of the roof.
Chair of the trust Helen Craig said repairing the roof was stage one of restoring the building, with the current plan being to build four apartments while preserving the original courtroom.
Craig is also Whanganui’s deputy mayor so sat out the meeting as a councillor and didn’t vote to present on behalf of the trust.
“It would be a step process rather than doing it all at once, that would probably enable us to unlock as much external funding as possible,” she said.
Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe applauded the trust’s initiative.
“To preserve our identity is part of what this initiative is about so I applaud that,” Tripe said.
He asked what would come next if the council approved funding the roof.
Craig said the trust would come back to the council between now and November with a plan for moving ahead.
Councillor Kate Joblin said supporting the trust was about showing leadership in an area where private industry had been slow to respond.
“Helen’s quite right when she talks about showing the way and supporting ... the heritage industry, the point of difference that Whanganui has,” she said.
Councillors Josh Chandulal-Mackay and Charlie Anderson supported continuing the work of previous councils with the plan.
“If we don’t do this, all we’ll do is support further decay in that part of town,” Anderson said.
However, the notion was not entirely supported.
Councillor Michael Law was in support of saving the buildings but said the decision to approve the loan needed to be a financial rather than emotional one.
“We’ve funded $275,000 to help a trust with a building worth $275,000, so we would barely get our money back even if we sold now,” he said.
Craig said if the trust didn’t secure funding for the roof, the trust would likely suggest selling the building as is.
Law saw the loan as a huge risk as the council had no way to gain ownership of the building if the trust dissolved.
“I just look at it in plain terms, they would like more money, for a property that isn’t worth it, and we have no security of getting that money back. I am very surprised that some of my team members support it.”
Councillor Peter Oskam questioned whether the council should be involved as a developer, saying there were other options available to preserve the buildings.
“This is a pilot or a test and I’m finding it very testing,” Oskam said.
Councillor Rob Vinsen said the council wasn’t a developer, it was solely a seed funder which allowed the process of saving the building to start.
“To get to that end product is going to require a developer, I do not envision council will be that developer, and I don’t think the trust is saying that either, but it’s enabling this to take place,” he said.
His only concern was the risk of the council not making back the money lent to the trust if the building were sold.
He asked council chief executive David Langford to investigate whether the council should take a mortgage over the property.
Councillor Ross Fallen saw the emotional component of the loan as valid because of the historical significance of the building.
“This is the last remaining Māori Land Court in the country. I would hate to [be] put in a place where we could lose that part of our history,” he said.
The vote to approve the loan passed, with only councillors Oskam and Law voting against it, and the only change made was to loan the trust up to $50,000 in work capital depending on if more outside funding was secured.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.