The demolition of an important building in Ashburton to make way for a car park is “incredibly wasteful", a heritage advocate says.

The red brick building at 255 Havelock Street, built in 1936, is set to be demolished at the end of October and replaced with car parks at Te Whare Whakatere, Ashburton’s new library and civic centre.

“It just seems so incredibly wasteful," Historic Place Mid Canterbury deputy chairman Nigel Gilkison said.

The group found out about the demolition too late to stop it, he said.

“We have been told that this demolition is unfortunately a done deal and that council are not able to get out of the contract they have signed to demolish this building.

“The rationale given by the council for demolishing the building is that it was too costly to refurbish and earthquake strengthen. But they must have been aware of these costs, as part of their due diligence, before they purchased the building.”

He said it looked like the council purchased the $550,000 building “simply so they can pull it down to make way for a new car park”.

“Perhaps a bit more foresight and forward planning could have prevented the loss of this building and the waste associated with its demolition.”

Council chief executive Hamish Riach said the building was purchased in 2017 as potential spillover office space for the then-under-consideration new library and civic centre.

“The ultimate design of Te Whare Whakatere, following consultation with the community, was for a larger building than originally planned,” Riach said.

“This essentially did away with the need for any spillover office space nearby.

“The council took the opportunity to buy the building at a moment in time with a particular purpose in mind but has later decided to utilise the space differently.”

The decision to demolish the building was made by the council at a meeting in July 2022, behind closed doors, and not released publically until Local Democracy Reporting revealed the details in July.

Parking was considered in the building design, with around 50 car parks included in the plans, Riach said.

The car park created by the building’s demolition would be primarily for visitors to Te Whare Whakatere.

The building doesn’t have a heritage status but “it could feasibly be included on the updated schedule of heritage items”, Gilkison said.

Conceding the building was doomed, Gilkison said he hoped it served as a lesson for the council.

“While it may be too late to save this building, we would like to see the council review its environmental policy in relation to purchasing buildings and refrain from buying buildings in the future, simply to demolish them."

Reusing existing buildings would be a more environmentally friendly approach than demolition, he said.

History of 255 Havelock Street

Cavendish Chambers, as it was originally known, was built in 1936 for the Cavendish Club.

Established in 1927, it was a cultural and social club for women, which is still operating now.

The original building was to be the first in Ashburton to be built with reinforced concrete.

Instead, it was built from brick because the council of the day “found that the specifications conflicted with the Borough building laws.”

By Jonathan Leask