The Canterbury earthquakes severely damaged Godley House and it was demolished in 2012. The site on Stoddart Point Reserve is an important landmark in Diamond Harbour and has historic, cultural, social, economic and environmental values.
The Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board meeting agenda, which includes the Stoddart Point Reserve - Future of former Godley House site report, will now be available online(external link) from 12pm Thursday 12 September.
We received 241 submissions from residents, local businesses and community groups.
Some of the requests were for:
A report will be presented to the Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board at their meeting on Monday 16 September 2019 in Akaroa. The agenda(external link) will be available on the Council website from Wednesday 11 September 2019.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, we will have a virtual meeting set up in our Lyttelton Office to link to the meeting in Akaroa. Please contact Amy Hart if you would like to come to Lyttelton.
Diamond Harbour School - Student's ideas
Years 0 to 2 [PDF, 612 KB]
Years 3 to 5 [PDF, 4.9 MB]
Years 6 to 8, 1 of 2 [PDF, 5.9 MB]
Years 6 to 8, 2 of 2 [PDF, 4.1 MB]
Consultation report [PDF, 954 KB]
We are now planning the future development of the former Godley House site reserve and we would like to know what you would like on this part of the reserve. Should the site remain as it is now, or should the site be developed for future use.
The land is a Recreation Reserve under the Reserves Act. This classification does not allow for some commercial activity, for example, a bar.
The ‘Reserve’ status is difficult to remove, however, the ‘Recreation’ classification could change (this is because the Department of Conservation, through a previous court ruling, cannot agree to the removal of the reserve status while the land is providing reserve values). Given the location and significance of this site, most, if not all of the reserve would not qualify to have its ‘Reserve’ status removed. If there is enough support, we could change the ‘Recreation’ classification to support a wider range of activities.
We are gathering all ideas - from previous discussions, from the Development Plan and from this consultation - to inform a site development plan . This includes possible land reclassification and funding, as required.
Come along to talk to us about the proposal
Green Room, Diamond Harbour Community Centre
Saturday 20 July 2019 1pm to 3pm
In September 2011, the Community Association and the Community Board published a summary of community proposals for future use of the site. In 2013, the initial "Getting to the Point" Development Plan was prepared. Ideas included a cafe/bar, a playground and outdoor theatre.
‘Diamond Harbour Getting to the Point’.(external link)
Village Planning(external link)
In 2006 the Banks Peninsula Council changed the status of the land (shown in red) from Council Freehold to Recreation Reserve.
However, in 2011/12 a short-term lease was granted to allow a café/bar to operate on this site until 2018, as the land status under the District Plan is shown as Banks Peninsula Commercial.
The lease was later extended to 2021 and while investigating an extension of the lease beyond 2021, the correct classification as Recreation Reserve was discovered.
An amendment to the district plan will be dependant on the outcome of this consultation.
A Recreation Reserve is defined as;
The main purpose of these reserves is the provision of areas for recreation and sporting activities. This is to provide for the physical welfare and enjoyment of the public and for protection of the natural environment and beauty.
The foundations of Godley House remain and are protected under the Historic Places Act 1993(external link).
| Date | Action |
| Monday 8 July 2019 | Consultation open |
| Saturday 20 July 2019 | Come talk to the team |
| Monday 5 August 2019 | Consultation closes |
| Monday 2 September 2019 | Community Board meeting - Present the feedback and staff recommendation to the Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board meeting |
| From Tuesday 3 September 2019 | Advise the community of the outcome of the meeting and the next steps |
