Whanganui council secures demolition consent for former St George’s School building

The school's main building was built in 1927. Photo / Mike Tweed

The 98-year-old building that was once Whanganui’s St George’s Preparatory School could be demolished.

On March 17, Whanganui District Council secured resource consent for “partial demolition of a Class C heritage building”, with remediation of asbestos-contaminated soil underneath.

In a statement, chief strategy officer Sarah O’Hagan said the council was assessing the property’s potential in line with its six-point plan to keep rates affordable.

One of those points is identifying sources of non-rates revenue.

“We know that the older buildings on the property do not meet seismic safety standards and, more recently, we have identified asbestos throughout the older parts of the buildings,” O’Hagan said.

Although the resource consent had been granted, “no decision has been made on the site’s future”.

For most consents related to demolition, the holder has five years to implement them.

The former school at 125 Grey St was built in 1927.

St George’s moved to the Whanganui Collegiate campus in 2011 after a decline in student numbers.

According to the council’s heritage inventory, the “substantial two-storey school” was designed in the neo-Georgian style.

“The base of the building is brick with the upper floor in rough cast render.

“Between the two north-facing wings is a more modern single-storey building forming an entry to the school facing Grey St.”

O’Hagan said the council’s assessment and resource consent did not apply to the newer administration building and the early childhood centre (Whanganui Y-Kids Early Learning Centre) at the southern corner of the site.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says his father was once head boy at the school. Photo / NZME

The buildings at Grey St were bought from the YMCA by Whanganui District Holdings - the council’s financial arm - in 2019 in a joint partnership with Te Ngakinga o Whanganui, as a location for classroom aviation training through the New Zealand International Pilot Academy (NZICPA).

In 2019, Holdings did not reveal how much the buildings were bought for because of commercial sensitivity, and the council did not provide a figure when asked this week.

NZICPA used some of the buildings from the second half of 2019 until June 2021.

Ownership of the site has since transferred from Whanganui District Holdings to the council, with Holdings currently in the process of disestablishment.

The joint partnership with Te Ngakinga o Whanganui ended in 2022, after the outbreak of Covid-19.

“Things came to a sudden halt because the world was closed down and there was no way to get the students we relied upon to get a return on that investment at St George’s,” former Holdings chairwoman Annette Main said.

“A major opportunity to develop the flight school was lost.”

A council spokesperson said the only occupied building included in the resource consent for demolition was a two-storey classroom block built in 1969, which was currently used by the YMCA.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said his father and sister attended the school, and his father served as head boy.

Many people had connections to St George’s but the buildings had been mostly vacant for several years “and we need to do something”, he said.

“There comes a point where we have to consider all options.

“We are looking at ways to better utilise our assets as far as maximising a return.”

Tripe said it remained a “desirable site” because of its location.

“Whanganui is doing its best to retain heritage where we can, and it’s a real point of difference for us but we need to be pragmatic about what this site holds for the future.”

St George’s School declined to comment on the council’s resource consent.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.