Time to say good bye to Bowen House

Stuff reports:

Speaker Trevor Mallard has revived plans to upgrade the Parliamentary complex with several new buildings.

Parliament is currently struggling with over-crowding as Bowen House, a foreign-owned office tower it rents out, is seismically strengthened.

Bowen House should not be used for parliamentary purposes. It is not on the precinct (it is across the road) and it is privately owned. The parliamentary buildings should be on one site, and owned by Parliament.

Bowen House was only meant to be used for a few years in the 1990s while the Debating Chamber etc was renovated.

At the heart of Mallard’s proposal is a new nine-storey office block on top of what is currently Parliament’s car-park on Museum Street.

Also included is a three-storey block to replace the earthquake-prone Beehive Annex, and a future small two-storey building on Ballantrae Place.

Sounds sensible. The Beehive Annex is a death trap.

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