Ask Phoebe: Moving pub a tricky and pricey business

The Birdcage Tavern will be moved 40m up Franklin Rd and then put back after the tunnel project is finished in 2012. Photo / Natalie Slade

When, where and how will the old Birdcage Tavern on the corner of Franklin Rd and Victoria St be moved? Will it go back to the same place? Helen Rossiter, Browns Bay, and James Hare, Freemans Bay.

The plan is to move the tavern to its temporary home in August or September. It will be moved about 40m up Franklin Rd, and then returned to close to its original position when the Victoria Park project is finished in 2012.

Because it is a brick building, there are problems associated with moving it. It will be reinforced internally and externally, and placed on runway beams through the hotel basement. Hydraulic rams will then push it gently and slowly along the beams up the road.

The same method will be used to return it to its new home, about 10m forward from its present position and rotated seven degrees anti-clockwise so that its facade sits better with the junction of Franklin Rd and Victoria St West.

As it sits now, the tavern is directly above the planned tunnel's southern portal. When it is moved back, the southern portal will be mostly hidden behind the tavern.

The total cost of the two moves is estimated at $2.5 million. Other matters that needed to be considered include realigning a sewer tunnel underneath the tavern, moving the Freemans Bay storm water culvert, and strengthening the southern end of the new tunnel to support the weight of the tavern.

The relocation work will be done by the Victoria Park Alliance team, with engineering work designed by Dunning Thornton Consultants. This company has been involved with moving other New Zealand historic buildings, including the Waihi goldmine pumphouse and the Museum Hotel in Wellington, moved to make way for Te Papa.

Who operates the dark blue helicopter that flies around the Mt Eden area very slowly and noisily most afternoons or evenings? Are they subject to any noise or height restrictions? David Wood, Mt Eden.

From your description, I'm guessing that this is the police helicopter, called the police air support unit but known colloquially as Eagle because of its call-sign.

It is dark blue/black, and since 1989 has been a twin-engine Aerospatiale AS355 Twinstar. It's based at Mechanics Bay, and usually has a crew of three - a civilian pilot and an observer and navigator who are both sworn police officers.

The primary use of the helicopter is as an airborne observation platform. The crew can co-ordinate the operations of ground based units, which is especially valuable where police are chasing offenders on foot or in vehicles. This is why the helicopter sometimes seems to circle around a patch of sky for quite some time.

For night-time use, the Eagle is equipped with an infra-red system which gives the crew a heat picture of the ground below, showing up people and vehicles despite the darkness.

The infra-red system also enables the crew to pick out vehicles that have been driven recently, detecting the heat emitted by a hot engine and wheels.

Once the aircrew have found what they're looking for, a spotlight illuminates a large area to help the ground-based units. The helicopter also has a global positioning system and a variety of radio equipment.

Noise restrictions apply to the aircraft as for any other, and the usual safety regulations regarding height and other aircraft are also observed.