Inglewood railway station quandary

Inglewood's old railway station and grounds are not to get extended historic protection because there are too many unknowns surrounding the prominent site.

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust has listed the station  both inside and out  and the yard as a category one historic place, and asked that New Plymouth District Council do the same in its District Plan.

NPDC recommended the current listing for the station be amended to show its historic status but did not agree that anything other than the exterior should have extra protection.

As well as including the building, NZHPT's registration encompasses the boundary wall, loading docks and ramps, former stock yard area, remnants of the male toilets, and railway station platform and canopy.

At this week's Inglewood Community Board meeting Graham Meads said he believed the fate of the site was one of the most important issues the board had discussed.

"This is going to affect the long-term future of our town."

Board chairwoman Jean Pierce said nobody wanted to see anything other than trees and green areas around the station.

When the town centre was upgraded all but four of the five development stages had gone ahead, with funding deferred for work around the station. The fate of the station was a long-running issue with discussions spanning at least 18 years, she said.

Board member Richard Jordan said Pukerangiora hapu had been consulted when townspeople wanted to turn the site into a village green. With the information in front of the board it could not do anything other than defer a decision.

NPDC spokesperson Colin Comber said extending historic status was inappropriate because the site was owned in a caretaker status by the Office of Treaty Settlements and was likely to be included in a settlement with Te Atiawa Iwi Authority (TAIA).

TAIA had written to the council registering its interest in the site and requesting it be consulted over future happenings and the two had recently had informal talks, Mr Comber said.

Extending category one to the whole area would also restrict its development potential and mean little room for compromise.

NZHPT was likely to want an all-encompassing approach rather than a piecemeal one. It was likely to require the same layout and use of similar materials, and oppose any subdivision, a NPDC report said.

While NZHPT regarded the inside of the station as significant, modification meant council officers questioned its heritage value.

"It is debatable whether the Inglewood railway station should be regulated to the same level as the eight buildings in the New Plymouth District that already have their interiors regulated," the report concluded. The community board agreed to defer a decision about extending the station's current listing until future ownership was settled.

- © Fairfax NZ News