By Bob McNeil
It is back to the drawing board for Auckland's Queen's Wharf, with all the submitted designs dropped.
The competition to re-design the wharf into “World Cup party central” has ended in debacle, with the city and regional councils deciding that all the designs were losers.
Auckland Mayor John Banks says the submissions were sub-standard.
“We have decided after listening to the people of Auckland, and after going through this process and competition, that what we've ended up with is simply not good enough.”
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee is also disappointed at the outcome of the design contest.
“What we've seen so far doesn't make the standard, it's not good enough,” he says.
“Queens' Wharf deserves better, the people of Auckland deserve better.”
The incident is another big idea for the Rugby World Cup that has bitten the dust in Auckland.
The politicians who kicked off the world cup plans say it's time to stop the infighting.
But Mr Banks is adamant it not going to end here. He's still looking for the perfect plan.
“Nothing's off the table, nothing’s on the table....except we've listened to the people and what we have got and where we have arrived is not good enough for this waterfront,” he says.
Mr Banks says the landscape of Auckland is littered with crass developments and he doesn't want to be part of that legacy.
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