Date set. Power out. Church in.

The Editor from Te Kowhai Newsletter

It's taken months of planning but Hamilton's oldest surviving church is finally set for its move. And that move is booked for the night of 21 January.

The church, a category B heritage item, was closed in 2012 because the congregation did not have the money to bring it up to earthquake standards.

House removal specialists are now on site bracing the church building.

"Getting it out of London St will be interesting to watch," St Paul's parish steward Ray Mudford said. "My guess is that the parking will be stopped on the street for a little while, while they bring the trucks in and get the building on the trailers.

"It'll be nice to see it on this new site and then, of course, the rebirth of this building back into a community asset. I think it's really, really good."

New owners Saint Property Developments Shareholder, Jason Barnes, says they are all set to go.

“The two annexed sections of the building will be separated for transport and the roof will be taken off in order to clear overhead obstacles.”

“Powerlines will need to be lifted or dropped for the building to pass. At this stage the move is scheduled for 10.30pm at night.”

“We anticipate that the building won’t arrive on site on Horotiu Road (opposite Westvale Lane) until the wee small hours of the morning.”

Once on site, Jason and his team will start work on car parking, decking, fencing and general repairs.

Te Kowhai residents should have received notification from WEL Networks that power will be turned off at 01.00 on 22 January and will be turned on again at 06.00. All times are approximate.

If circumstances such as poor weather conditions prevent the work being carried out on 22 January, an alternative date will be used instead. If this happens, they will try their best to make the times the same as those stated on the original date. They will let customers know if this is not the case.

WEL Networks have asked that people contact their electricity supplier if they have any major concerns.

Vulnerable or medically dependent customers will need to be aware of this information so they can make alternative arrangements during the outage. If you know anyone who may need assistance due to this outage or may not be aware of this outage but should be, please get in touch with them and contact your electricity provider as soon as possible.