Decision to dump Theatre Royal redevelopment disappoints

Wednesday, 17 July 2024

After five years of high expectations, those who supported a proposal to redevelop Timaru’s Theatre Royal and create a heritage hub are disappointed by a decision to scrap the project.

The Timaru District Council decision went through seven votes to two at a meeting on Tuesday.

It has left some fearing further delays as well as cost blowouts if the council chooses to go ahead with creating a multi-use facility at the site of the town library.

That pitch came as a “complete shock” to South Canterbury Drama League president Kevin Foley, who said Tuesday’s decision was “disappointing”.

“It’s obvious. It will be two or three years until anything happens,” said Foley, who attended part of the meeting.

“It will have to go out for consultation.”

He said the drama league, which had a long history of staging its major productions at the Theatre Royal, had almost given up on the idea of having a large facility again.

Although the theatre could work well in a facility with the library and museum, he wondered why that idea had not been proposed sooner.

“It’s surprising to me, and will be to many people, that this has just landed on the council.

“One wonders if this is another delay tactic.”

He said that almost five years after the Theatre Royal’s closure, it was a “huge pity’’ the performing arts lacked a home in the district – unlike the nearby towns of Ashburton and Ōamaru, both of which had theatres.

Aidan Theatre founder and director Kimble Henderson, who sat in the public gallery throughout the meeting, said she was “gobsmacked” by the decision.

“There’s a lot to digest,” she said. “I know who I’m not voting for next time.”

Meanwhile, Timaru man Les Rawlings, who also attended the meeting, felt councillors had “made the right decision”.

He has been openly opposed to the project and said the meeting covered all the points he felt were relevant to the debate.

A former CBD business owner from 1971 to 1999, he wanted the council to use its land at the south end of town for car parking.

Jess Young, a founder of START (Save Timaru’s Arts and Rebuild our Theatre), said the group’s members were “gutted” by the decision.

“We understand we will still get a theatre in some shape or form,” she said.

“However, we don’t believe that it will be able to be done ‘hastily’ as [council chief executive] Nigel Trainor put it. We also will be surprised if the plan B comes in at the same price as the project that has been scrapped.

“We will follow the process closely, and as any occasions arise [where] we feel taking action will be valuable then we will step up again.”

Speaking in his capacity as chairperson of the Timaru Civic Trust, Nigel Gilkison, who is also an urban design expert, said the cost to demolish the library and build a multi-use facility on the site would be “astronomical”.

“It boggles my mind, particularly as they [councillors] don’t have any estimated costs,” he said.

“It is going to be an astronomical figure as they will have to demolish the building and build three distinct buildings on the site.”

Each facility would require its own security and entrances, as they would have different hours, he said.

“What they’re proposing is more ambitious” than the theatre and hub project, he said.

He estimated the project would cost more than $100m.

“It’s going right back to square one and all the money wasted that’s already been spent. It’s absolutely bizarre.”

He said the Theatre Royal building would be “very difficult to sell”, adding: “You’d want to get it for free.”

It meant the dynamics of the $34m CityTown project, which aimed to create a master plan for the long-term development of Timaru’s CBD, would need to be updated, he said.

Gilkison also questioned the council’s decision given the Theatre Royal and Heritage Hub project had been consulted on twice.

“It was agreed to by the public. Why have they scrapped it?”