Wellington City councillors have met behind closed doors today about the future of the shut-up Reading Cinema building on Courtenay Pl, the Herald understands.

The building was closed in early 2019 after an earthquake risk was discovered. A car park next to the cinema building was earlier demolished following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and nothing has been built on the site since.

It has become a symbol of the tired state of Courtenay Pl - a street that’s traditionally been a key part of the city’s nightlife and entertainment offerings.

A full city council meeting was held this afternoon with just one item on the agenda titled “city activation project”.

It’s understood the future of Reading Cinema was under consideration.

It was discussed in a public-excluded part of the meeting. Reasons given for this included allowing the local authority to carry on negotiations, including commercial and industrial negotiations, without prejudice or disadvantage.

Not all councillors agreed it should be discussed in secret, but they were overruled by their peers.

Cr Iona Pannett was concerned about the lack of transparency.

 “It is not clear when the information will be made public. It does have an impact on the public for a number of reasons.”

She said it will have “very significant implications”.

Cr Nicola Young said the council needed to be open.

“I’m concerned that we are losing all credibility with Wellingtonians because of the unexpected happenings such as the Town Hall cost blowout.”

Yesterday it was revealed the cost of earthquake-strengthening and redeveloping Wellington’s Town Hall has rocketed from $182 million to a possible $329m.

The cost escalation will be considered and voted on at another full council meeting on October 25.

Cr Tony Randle also opposed today’s meeting being held in secret.

“This is an important decision that the council is making today and I understand fully the reasons why it’s in public excluded but I do have to say, I think that us dealing with this at this time is really a bad move for the council.”

But Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau, who chaired today’s meeting, disagreed because of the “commercial and sensitive nature of the deal.”

In June, Whanau said she hoped the council could soon make an announcement on the future of Reading Cinema.

“That will be a very exciting thing,” she said at the time.

At a press conference yesterday about the Town Hall budget blowout, Wellington City Council chief executive Barbara McKerrow was asked what was happening with Reading Cinema.

“We are working hard with the owners of Reading Cinema,” McKerrow said.

In an annual return filed in March this year, Reading Cinemas Courtenay Central Limited reported the company was re-evaluating the property for redevelopment as an entertainment-themed urban centre with a major food and grocery component.

“We are currently working on a comprehensive plan for the redevelopment of this property featuring a variety of uses to compliment and build upon the “destination quality” of this location.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.