Cobblestone Park Redevelopment

Cobblestone Park

Wellington City Council is planning to redevelop Cobblestone Park to make it more attractive and increase its usage.

Located on Vivian Street and bounded by Dunlop Terrace and Knigges Avenue, Cobblestone Park is adjacent to the Victoria University Faculty of Architecture and Design. The park is currently used mainly by students.

Cobblestone Park History

The park was designed and built in 1974 in a modernist English character style. Designer Mary Buckland wanted to create a place that was "soft and natural" and "a small restful island in a busy part of the city".

The area around the park has seen a large rise in the number of residents over the last 10 years, increasing pressure on the existing open spaces. While the park was appropriate for the 1970s, the increasing population and need for more green space in the city means the park needs to be redeveloped.

Project Aims

The current design, layout and planting do not meet the needs of the growing residential population, nearby businesses, institutions and visitors to the area. The redevelopment of the park will encourage more people to use it.

The project aims are:

• increased usage
• improved safety
• better connectivity and pedestrian routes as part of a larger central area network
• flexibility of use through simple design.

Concept Plan

The Council's Strategy & Policy Committee approved the proposed design by Wraight & Associates for redeveloping the park, along with the following suggestions:

• the café is replaced with an active space such as a hard court area and/or an informal open area
• the patterns on Dunlop Terrace are replaced with a more practical alternative.

• Concept Plan (124Kb PDF)
• Design Statement (346Kb PDF)
• Artist Sketch (430Kb PDF)
• Proposed Hard Court Area (567Kb PDF)

Further work will also be undertaken with external stakeholders - Transit New Zealand, iwi, Victoria University Facilities Management, the Disability Reference Group, Living Streets, and Cycle Aware Wellington - to finalise the design for the park.

Feedback

The Council is asking for public feedback on this concept. Feedback should be sent by 5.00pm Friday 19 September 2008 to kate.mcdavitt@wcc.govt.nz.

Budget & Project Timeline

The Council is funding $1 million towards this project, which is scheduled for completion by June 2009.

More Information

Geoffrey Snedden
Manager Urban Design
Urban Development and Transport

Department Details:
Urban Development & Transport