Tribe delays knock down of Church College

Ngapuhi plans to seek a heritage protection order have further stalled the Mormon Church's efforts to begin its demolition of the school.

Hamilton City Council chief executive Michael Redman confirmed the council would not issue the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (LDS) with a resource consent to begin 5000 cubic metres of earthworks at the Temple View school campus.

Council staff earlier this month had recommended the consent application be granted "as soon as possible" but Te Runanga O Iwi O Ngapuhi's request to the council for a heritage protection order on the campus has further delayed the controversial demolition plans. Mr Redman said although council still had to hear back on the specifics of the request the issue had to be resolved before any further progress could be made on determining the future of the Church College buildings.

"We need to deal with it before we can progress the matter. We need to understand exactly what the request is, and then what response we need to make," Mr Redman said.

"Until we get that clarification, we're not sure which path it sends us down."

Mr Redman said dealing with the heritage protection order was "a new process ... and we're having to navigate through that."

If the runanga confirmed it was seeking a heritage protection order, council staff would then have to "set up" the process for elected councillors to consider the matter, Mr Redman said.

"It would be a process similar to a notified application, so we'd have to call for submissions, and we'd have to hear submissions, and then make a decision."

That process has the potential to extend the demolition saga even longer, and could result in a delay to the demolition resource consent application hearing tentatively scheduled for January.

Councillor Gordon Chesterman said the latest development was "great", because it meant the process would come to a halt and debate on the future of the campus could continue.

"It's slowed the process down. What I feared was the church was going ahead, doing what it had to do, and the moment it got the resource consent, it would go hard and fast for it (demolition)."

Councillor Dave Macpherson was pleased he and other councillors would be given the task of tackling Ngapuhi'srequest. But Mr Macpherson also voiced concern the church hierarchy would still "try and find other ways to push this through".

The slowing of the process enabled parties involved to look further at the alternatives, he said.

Temple View Heritage Society chairman Robert Cammock said Ngapuhi's involvement and "other complications" played into his group's hand to some extent, with any delay aiding the cause of those opposed to the demolition.

"Time is our greatest ally here," Mr Cammock said. "A few months ago we thought the bulldozers might be moving in in a few weeks, but clearly that's not going to happen."

Mr Cammock said he also believed there could soon be a change in the church hierarchy's attitude to the demolition, and felt there could be a "positive announcement" in the near future.