Just one vote in decision to give Theatre Royal project the go-ahead

Thursday, 14 December 2023

A computer sketch from March 21, 2023, of how Timaru's Theatre Royal and Heritage Hub development might look.

Timaru’s councillors remain divided over whether they should go ahead with a $57million upgrade of the Theatre Royal, with the latest decision going through by just one vote. And, they appeared to have been blindsided by plans to create a car park, opposite the theatre, when they heard about them at a workshop this week.

On Wednesday, the Timaru District Council released information relating to a decision made by councillors, during the public excluded part of a council meeting on November 28, regarding the future of the Theatre project.

Council communications and engagement manager Stephen Doran said councillors voted, five votes to four, in favour of taking the project to the next stage, which will include a detailed design and value engineering.

The Theatre Royal building on Stafford St.

Mayor Nigel Bowen and councillors Peter Burt, Owen Jackson, Scott Shannon and Michelle Pye voted in favour, while councillors Allan Booth, Stu Piddington, Stacey Scott and Gavin Oliver voted against the motion, he said. Councillor Sally Parker was not present at the meeting.

In voting to go ahead with the next stage of ‘Option 1’, the council also agreed to release the outcome of the meeting to the community.

Option 1 will see the Theatre Royal refurbished with back of house facilities rebuilt and changing facilities removed and rebuilt, the stage house completely refurbished, and a new Heritage facility built. It will also see the Heritage facility redesigned, with only the Criterion Hotel facade retained and the building behind it changed.

Theatre Royal upgrade project lead Nicole Timney pictured inside the stripped theatre. (File photo)

The council’s latest update also confirmed the estimated cost of the project remains at $57.1m, $11.6m of that from the Government’s ‘shovel-ready’ fund, with the rest to be funded by the council.

In announcing the decision, the council said the report and attachments which had not been publicly released would remain “public excluded until all commercial negotiations have been concluded”.

Council property services and client representative Nicole Timney, who is leading the project, said the next stage was critical as it can drive the efficiency of the project and ensure “every cent” of the overall budget is “bringing value”.

“These are long-life facilities that will serve generations of the community, so it’s important that we build to a level of quality, but that’s not to say that we can’t take the opportunity to make savings along the way.

The buildings set for demolition include buildings from the former Majestic Theatre, centre, and the buildings to the immediate left of it.

“In cases where we simplify the design and things are easier to build, there can be some significant cost savings without major impacts,” Timney said.

The cost of, and plans for the theatre were also discussed at the council’s second Long Term Plan Workshop on Tuesday, with Cr Sally Parker questioning a budget for a car park at the southern end of the town.

Parker was told by the council’s group manager infrastructure, Andrew Dixon, the funds were for a car park for the Theatre Royal, and the council had been in talks with Timaru District Holdings Limited (TDHL), which owns the land, about the plan.

A rendered image of what the greenspace will look like once the buildings on Timaru's Stafford St are demolished.

Piddington asked for an explanation of exactly where the car park would be located, and was told it would be directly across from the theatre, and would also be a meet and greet area for people arriving at the theatre.

In October, the council confirmed it had granted its holdings company, TDHL, consent to demolish a row of buildings opposite the Theatre Royal. That consent allows for the demolition of buildings from 101-107 Stafford St, which included the former Majestic Theatre which was completed in the 1920s.

Urban design expert, Nigel Gilkison, opposed the demolition and appealed to the council to put a stop to the plans, with developer Gaire Thompson expressing an interest in looking at the Majestic building. When contacted earlier this month, Thompson said he was still keen, but yet to see inside the property.

Information supplied by TDHL, as part of the demolition consent, showed the holdings company planned to create a green space on the land after the buildings were removed.

Piddington said it was a “bit weird” to learn of the plans for a car park on the site, when the council “can’t afford the car park we’ve got” for the theatre.

“We need to start to think of things holistically, not shoot off and decide we are doing something across the road without any discussion around the table.

“We’re taking things out of the theatre, to make it manageable, and they seem to be slipping in the budget here – which I don't think is the way to go,” Piddington said.

Bowen said the council did need clarity over the matter, before warning councillors about the need to be “conscious some of the conversations we’ve had in a ‘p. ex’ (publicly excluded) environment”.

The council has also provided an update on the South Canterbury Museum team’s plans for the new space in the proposed Heritage facility.

Fitting out the exhibition space, which includes a 700m2 upstairs space, is expected to cost $3m, and is not included in the building budget.

“The South Canterbury Museum Development Trust are working to raise the further funding required for this project. Funding in hand has now reached $2m.”

A detailed design for the theatre upgrade is expected to be completed by late April 2024.