Future of the Central Library Consultation

Submission on the Wellington City Council's Future of the Central Library consultation

The Central Library plays a concomitant role as part of Wellington’s inner-city, surrounded by the central business district. As the representative body for businesses in the Wellington region, we are not as fixated on the option selected, but more concerned about how it will be funded, the process taken, and the information considered, to make the final decision.

Council must make a decision mindful of its role as a ‘prudent steward’ of ratepayers’ money, and any decision taken must ensure efficient and effective use of Council’s resources, including the future management of its assets.

Given the nature of the library services, we believe that that it is the responsibility of the residential ratepayer to cover the bulk of the cost of Central Library.

As such, our submission will not advocate for one specific option but does ask several key questions we feel need to be addressed as part of the consultation process, that Councillors must satisfy themselves of the answers, before a decision is finalised.

Chamber Position

Although the Chamber is not advocating for a particular proposed option, we write in support of four overarching principles that need to be considered;

• Safety must be an absolute priority with community buildings
• The need for a library/public space in the inner-city
• Do it once, do it right
• ‘User pays’ funding models

While the closure of the Central Library in March 2019 was disappointing, the Chamber believes it allows the city the opportunity to re-invent the library into a more attractive space and ensure it is fit-for-purpose for generations of Wellingtonians to come.

Therefore, we offer the following questions to the Wellington City Council to be addressed in detail before they finalise a decision on the future of the Central City Library. Our objective with these questions is to ensure that every option is taken into account, we want to be part of a constructive and objective process, and hope that all issues from the business community’s perspective are addressed...

Download to read the full submission.