Thank goodness the Reading deal is killed

The Herald reports:

Wellington City Council has ended negotiations with Reading International over a controversial deal to reopen the closed cinema complex on Courtenay Place.

The council had planned to buy the land underneath the cinema for $32 million, money which the cinema would use to redevelop the building.

However, senior council staff now say they have not been able to reach the best possible outcomes for Wellingtonians and the decision was made this week not to pursue the proposal further.

What this means is that the details of the proposed deal were so bad and terrible for ratepayers, that the Council realised that the deal was unsellable.

It should have never got so far, no doubt wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars in failed negotiations. But better late than never.