With demolition of the twentieth century Museum buildings set to start in October, contractors will soon be setting the boundaries for the construction site area. A secure site fence will replace the current temporary fencing in late September.
Six trees and smaller shrubs within the site – in front of and to the side of the Robert McDougall Gallery – need to be removed to accommodate large machinery and equipment. This will include the piling rig that will be used to build the walls of the base-isolated basement under the Robert McDougall Gallery and the new build part of the Museum redevelopment.
The Botanic Gardens plan on keeping some of the wood from the trees for future use. They are talking with wood workers about using as much of the timber for various crafts as they can. Any mulch from the trees will be used within the Botanic Gardens and Hagley Park.
We’ll replace every tree removed with two trees which is in line with the Christchurch City Council’s policy. We hope to agree the replacement tree species and locations with the Council soon so that we can start growing them off site.
The Christchurch City Council consulted on removing the trees as part of the Museum’s application for temporary easements in 2022 which they agreed in November 2022. The Council granted the easements at their 23 November 2022 meeting.
Two lime trees and a small specimen tree were removed from the front of the Museum building in early August to create space for a construction site office and access for construction vehicles.
The William Rolleston statue in front of the Museum will be protected throughout construction.