The land in the heart of our city centre has a long and complex history dating back more than 150 years.
Past events involved mana whenua experiencing alienation from the land where our council buildings have occupied for many years. This alienation has been recognised by the Waitangi Tribunal as being undertaken in a way that breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.
We will soon be embarking on a major transformation on this land, one that will see a vibrant community space created there in the near future. To be called Te Manawataki o Te Papa – The Heartbeat of Te Papa - this will be a place where people can come together to connect, discover, share stories about our past, shape our future, be entertained and have fun.
As these plans progress, we believe it is important to formally recognise the long-standing grievances associated with the ownership of the land, and provide certainty around its future use. That’s why we proposed establishing a new ownership structure for the land at the Civic Precinct site, referred to as ‘Site A’. The solution adopted by Council on 3 October 2022, will see a new Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) Charitable Trust established that will own the land and be jointly governed by Council and Otamataha Trust. The Trust represents mana whenua from Ngai Tamarāwaho, Ngāti Tapu and Te Materāwaho – the descendants of those who released the site to the CMS (see history below).
This pathway means that all of us – council, mana whenua and the community - can progress with the exciting plans to restore our city’s heart with certainty, confidence and mana.
For more information about the history of the area and what we proposed, read our full Consultation Document below.
Establishing a CCO - Consultation Document (3.2kb pdf)