22 November 2011

Raglan Wharf Tender Announced

The sound of construction will be evident in early January as work begins at Raglan Wharf on the new building which replaces the one destroyed by fire in April 2010.

Waikato District Council has accepted a tender of $1,735,000 from Livingstone Building NZ Ltd. The contractors aim to have the new building completed within 20 weeks. General manager water and facilities Richard Bax says the news can’t come soon enough for Raglan people.

“It has been a long haul for Raglan and we’re looking forward to seeing the scar left by the former wharf building replaced by a newer purpose-built building that will help recreate wharf’s potential,” he said.

Waikato District Council is currently negotiating lease agreements with previous and prospective new tenants.

“Our aim is to make this happen as quickly as possible while ensuring we have quality business tenants who complement the Raglan Wharf’s potential as a key tourist and entertainment destination,” said Mr Bax.

While the tender price for the replacement building is less than the engineer's estimate and within the overall budget set in the Annual Plan, it is more than was originally envisaged. As a result of the Canterbury earthquakes, building requirements have changed significantly, and this has impacted on cost.

Background
The design of the new building is of similar size and character to the former building destroyed by fire on 13 April 2010. Raglan Seafoods, Raglan Kayak, Tony Sly pottery and the Raglan Coastguards’ office lost their premises in the blaze. As well as financial loss to the businesses on site, historic items stored in the iconic wharf building were destroyed in the fire that devastated the community and resulted in job losses.

ENDS

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