Napier mayor Kirsten Wise promises War Memorial fully back in place by end of 2021

All aspects of the War Memorial are expected to be reinstated within the area of the Marine Parade war memorial site and forecourt. Photo / File

Napier's War Memorial is unlikely to be fully back in place by Anzac Day but it will be by the end of the year.

That's the promise from Mayor Kirsten Wise, 15 months into the job and determined to see a debate which has waged for almost five years does not continue into a sixth.

All aspects of the War Memorial are expected to be reinstated within the area of the Marine Parade war memorial site and forecourt. That includes the eternal flame and Roll of Honour, with repaired and updated plaques including names not previously listed.

She told Hawke's Bay Today she wants proposals before the city council by March, but emphasises it has to be done properly.

In a pre-Christmas Facebook update, Wise said heritage architects James Blackburne and Jeremy Salmond had joined the War Memorial Restoration Project design team, endorsed by original memorial designer, architect and World War II navalman serviceman Guy Natusch, who died on September 30, aged 99.

"They are committed to ensuring the elements are restored to the site in a manner which stays true to Guy's original design intent for the memorial," Wise said.

Winds of change as Napier War Memorial Centre redevelopment was in full swing in 2016. Photo / File

"I appreciate that this is taking far longer than any of us anticipated and I understand this is frustrating for many, including myself," she said.

"However the most important thing is to ensure that we get this right and we have a War Memorial that all of our community can be proud of."

The War Memorial, commemorating primarily those who had perished in the two world wars and incorporating a conference centre, opened in 1957.

But it has been embroiled in a conflict of its own since the first of the structural changes in 2015 leading to rebranding for conference and events marketing purposes.

Rebranding as the Napier Conference Centre in 2017 inflamed the issue. The following year the complex was renamed the Napier War Memorial Centre, now the home of council arm Napier Conferences and Events.