New plan for Timaru’s Theatre Royal presented to councillors

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

A last-minute reprieve for Timaru’s Theatre Royal has been thrown into the mix, with four new options presented to councillors during a public workshop on Tuesday.

The new plan, estimated to cost up to $29.1 million for the first stage, included an upgrade of the Theatre Royal, a separate museum, a public laneway space with shared truck access, and a development opportunity for a bar/restaurant at the former Criterion Hotel site.

Draft concepts of the plan, by Timaru-based NB Architects, was one of four options presented at the workshop on future provision for performing arts in the Timaru District.

Councillors used the workshop to come up with a plan ahead of their next meeting on October 31.

At that meeting, councillors are expected to vote on options to be presented to the public, and whether the public actually needs to be consulted for a third time on the controversial theatre project.

If chosen, option one by NB Architects could be done in two stages, with a museum built behind the theatre, off Barnard St, councillors were told.

The other options were to build a new theatre next to the Theatre Royal, a multi-use civic centre on the site of the Timaru library, or to do nothing.

The workshop came after a meeting in August, where councillors voted to delay public consultation to allow them to consider the finer details of all options for the theatre.

At Tuesday’s workshop, chief executive Nigel Trainor said he thought the plan for option one, was “far superior’’ to the $57.1m design dumped by councillors in July.

He said the $29.1m cost had been calculated by the council’s quantitative surveyor and while there was still some information to come, a peer review by a builder had the figure at $25m.

“So, it’s going to be somewhere between $25m and $29m,’’ Trainor said.

In presenting the four options, Timaru District Council group manager corporate and communications Stephen Doran said the workshop was not about making a decision but working through the “pros and cons’’ of each option.

The workshop, which went for almost two hours, also addressed the council’s library and museum.

Doran said NB Architects was asked to look at the previous work done on plans for the theatre, and “come up with a concept to just refurbish” it.

The idea included the existing theatre, as is, and building alongside it to fix internal floor problems. It would also have a bar and cafe area.

“They have also added a new scene dock and an extension to the south wing,’’ he said.

As well as offering truck access, it would link a plaza from Barnard St to Stafford St.

The theatre would have new seats and be re-rigged to improve sight lines for the audience.

Doran said the concept included space for small conferences and meetings.

Mayor Nigel Bowen asked whether consultation would be required, should the first option be chosen.

Doran said through various consultations, undertaken by the council, councillors had a “a reasonably clear idea of what the public thinks about doing up the theatre’’.

He said formal feedback could be sought, instead of formal consultation.

Trainor said the museum in option one would cost $12m to $15m.

“Plus you can then potentially sell the museum site, which would bring in some more money.’’

If councillors opted for both in a two-staged plan, the project would cost about $45m and would likely allow the council to still draw down the funding offered by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in 2020.

When councillor Owen Jackson asked if there was more detail around that funding, Trainor said there was a “very strong argument that the money would be available’’.

“A very strong argument, have you actually heard from them?’’ Jackson asked.

Trainor said the indication he had was that the project would be favourable for the funding.

When Bowen asked what was sitting in the budget for the project, Trainor said $46.2m.

“So there would be a $10m saving if the two-stage proposal went ahead,’’ he said.

Piddington said it was his view that the public should be consulted.

“We told people, in the meeting last time, we would consult on options, and I would be uncomfortable making a decision without consulting in some way,’’ he said.

Councillor Allan Booth asked if the stakeholders’ requirements around the width required for a functional theatre had been met in option one.

Doran said it “got most of the way there’’.

In presenting the conditions of the council’s other buildings, Doran said the Warren and Mahoney-designed Timaru library was at a New Building Standard (NBS) of 15% but with a small amount of work this could be raised to 67%.

The roof was also “knackered’’, he said.

It would cost about $3m to repair and earthquake strengthen.

Meanwhile, it would cost an estimated $15m to upgrade the museum.

It was at 15% of NBS and required major work to achieve a higher percentage of building standards.

The theatre’s rating was 33%, but the majority of the building was at 95 to 100%, he said.

Doran said the concrete reinforcement along the theatre’s fly towers brought the earthquake standard down.

“It’s fixable,’’ Doran said.

Option two was the least developed and would require further work but was estimated to cost about $32m. It was for a 500-seat theatre to be built alongside Barnard St and would only deliver a modern theatre.

If chosen, the existing Theatre Royal would be mothballed for future development.

Trainor said if a decision was made to demolish the Theatre Royal, that would take some time as Heritage New Zealand would challenge it.

Option three was to build a civic centre on the library site, which would contain a library, a museum and theatre, at an estimated cost of $61.55m, while option four would cost about $500,000 to mothball the theatre and $200,000 a year to maintain the building.