War memorial options to go before Napier City Council

An artist's impression of the preferred option for reinstating the memorial items to the Napier War Memorial Centre, with the flame in the centre and Roll of Honour plaques in the background.

Options for the reinstatement of Napier's war memorial commemorative items and new Napier War Memorial Centre signage will be considered by the city council on Friday.

It's another step in the long-running saga, sparked in March last year when the centre was reopened after a multimillion-dollar redevelopment with the roll of honour plaques, Eternal Flame, and "War Memorial" title removed.

Since then the council had committed to exploring design concepts for the reinstatement of the memorial items, reviewing the roll of honour, and narrowly agreed in April this year to rename the building the Napier War Memorial Centre.

On Friday the council will be presented with three options for the war memorial design that had been assessed against a design brief formulated in collaboration between council officers and architect Guy Natusch, and said to have been endorsed and signed off by the War Memorial Working Group.

The options had been summarised in a report to the council and comprised an annex attached to the main memorial building, a building solution outside the main building and the preferred option - an outdoor landscape solution.

The preferred option, at an estimated cost of $460,000 to $500,000, would see the flame situated in an adjoining outdoor area surrounded by a pergola structure that in the current design did not provide much shelter but could be adapted through further more detailed design.

In the report this option was said to put the flame at the centre of the open space without cluttering the honour rolls, which would be placed nearby - the exact location of which could be confirmed through ongoing consultation with the public.

Another proposal was to install an annex on the main building, estimated to cost about $2 million, but this was said to have limited opportunity for inclusion of emotion and symbolism, education programmes and 24/7 access and ownership.

The final proposal, estimated to cost between $500,000 and $2m, suggested a new, separate building beside the main centre.

This, despite offering shelter and good access, was said to give limited ability to view and appreciate the Roll of Honour and did not provide an opportunity for the public to provide consultation in the detailed design phase.

Also under consideration would be appropriate external signage, with councillors asked to approve a recommendation to have a sign saying Napier War Memorial Centre placed at the centre of the forecourt in front of the main building.

One of the options is to have the Napier War Memorial Centre signage placed in the centre of the forecourt.

The conference centre brand would remain in its current place on the front of the main building as part of this option.

The alternative would be to have the sign to the left of the main building flanked by a flagpole.

The councillors would also consider an expanded Roll of Honour, displayed by rank, name and military awards.

Once the council had decided on the preferred design there would be a period of community consultation to consider elements of symbolism and emotion that promoted remembrance and evoked contemplation.