A 'living room for the city': Nelson pub at risk of closure under council civic centre plans
A popular pub in a 100-year-old former church could face closure under one of three multi-million dollar options for a new library, community hub and civic centre.
The Free House, a popular Nelson pub established in 2009, is at risk of closure under one of the city council's multi-million dollar options for a new library, community hub, and civic centre. The council is proposing three options: developing the current Civic House and the adjacent Savings Bank and State Advances sites for $73.3 million; building a new hub, library, and civic space in Collingwood Street for $74.1m; or constructing the same facilities in Church Street for $88.2m.
If the Collingwood Street option is chosen, The Free House would be replaced with a new building. The pub has become a regular meeting place for various groups, including knitters, singers, backgammon players, and mountain bikers, among others. Owner Eelco Boswijk expressed surprise at the news, stating that it was only when they saw pictures of the council's proposal that they realized the land the pub was on was also included in the options.
Boswijk hopes there may be a way to integrate The Free House into the design of the new civic centre, but emphasized that there are two other options on the table, and it is too early to get too worked up about the outcome.
Brief written by urgent.news from RNZ Business's own syndicated text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
