WCC votes 9-7 to support Reading Cinemas with $32m deal
From Scoop. 29 February 2024
The bid to stop a Wellington City Council deal with the owners of the long-closed Reading Cinema in Courtenay Place has failed, with seven councillors voting against the deal and nine in favour of it.
The controversial $32m deal will see the council buy the land under the cinema complex, and rent it back to the private international company, which will use that money to pay for earthquake strengthening.
The council says the deal is fiscally neutral, but those who voted against it say it is a form of corporate welfare.
