New plan to save Timaru’s Theatre Royal given green light
Thursday, 31 October 2024
Just over a week after it was presented to councillors at a public workshop, a new plan to save Timaru’s Theatre Royal has been given the green light.
There was a loud applause from the public gallery as the council approved a plan to go ahead with an upgrade of the Theatre Royal and build a new museum behind it during Thursday’s council meeting.
The vote, which included going ahead without further public consultation, went through six votes to three, with mayor Nigel Bowen abstaining from the vote due to a perceived conflict of interest.
The work of Timaru-based architecture firm, NB Architects, the proposal is a two-staged plan – the first will see the upgrade of the Theatre Royal, and second a new building for a museum.
The new design came about after a public meeting was held to discuss the future of the building, after the council dumped an earlier $57m plan to upgrade it and build an adjoining heritage facility in July.
Last week, NB Architects’ design was one of four options presented to councillors at a public workshop and was the preferred option tabled at Thursday’s meeting.
Heading into the meeting, the recommendation was for the council to delegate chief executive Nigel Trainor to progress with Option 1B (the NB Architects’ proposal), with no further public consultation.
Council staff said Options 1 and 1B could be progressed as they are “broadly in line with previous consultations” and come within the budget allocated in the 2024-34 Long Term Plan (LTP).
The estimated total cost of Option 1B is about $45m.
Trainor confirmed the remaining $6.8m of funding offered by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in 2020, which was yet to be drawn down by the council, is still on the table.
“We’ve spoken to MBIE, if we commit to 1B then we give the appropriate timeframes, they will honour that,” he said.
Council officers said Options 2, 2B (for a new theatre and museum), 3 (a multi-use civic centre on Timaru Library site) and 4 (to do nothing) differed from plans outlined in the LTP and would require public consultation.
The council’s group manager corporate and communications, Stephen Doran, said public feedback to Option 1B had been favourable and Heritage New Zealand had indicated its support for the proposal via email on Thursday.
Trainor said it was the council’s preference to use local contractors and gave an assurance local would mean Timaru District local, rather than wider-Canterbury.
Councillor Stu Piddington asked whether the budget and scope could be cut back to remove a bar and additional offerings and simply get the theatre restored.
Doran said part of the design of the bar area was to tackle a flow issue and the feedback from users had been that there was no point in doing the job if they did not tackle all backstage issues.
Councillor Stacey Scott said she was supportive of Option 1B, but wanted clarification on the scope of the project as she was concerned about cost.
“I did some high-level figures, and talked to people … I think that we are still $5m too much for our ratepayers.”
Scott said she would rather set a budget and ask for council staff to find cuts to meet that.
Trainor said he would be prepared to take up any such challenge.
“We need to do the job at the best price possible,” he said.
At the start of the meeting, Timaru resident Chris Thomas addressed councillors and urged them to support the plan to go ahead with upgrading the Theatre Royal. Thomas, a former South Canterbury Drama League president and current board member, said he was speaking on behalf of himself and not the league.
“Let’s just end this cycle of delay … it’s time to stop the procrastination.
“Please don’t sit on your hands, let’s get moving.”
He said the Theatre Royal was a unique heritage building.
“It’s just something that cannot be replaced.”
He described the proposal by NB Architects as “very innovative” and said it had been beneficial for stakeholders to discuss that with the company and council officers in recent weeks as they worked on it.
Last week, NB Architects’ spokesperson Josh Newlove explained the concept and said they had been tasked with looking at making the theatre function well for the community.
Newlove said rather than focus solely on the theatre, they gave consideration to how the building worked in with others around it which had prompted the idea of incorporating a laneway linking it to nearby streets, civic facilities and an existing hospitality precinct.
The company started working on the proposal following the public meeting at Caroline Bay Hall on September 9.
Newlove said he believed work could start on the staged plan within 6-8 months. He said they would still need to do a “full detailed design”, which could take about a year.
Deputy mayor Scott Shannon moved a motion to accept option 1B saying he was “quite proud” they had stopped nd come up with a better concept.
Shannon said while he was a great supporter of the previous proposal, the price tag was a real issue for many.
He said they want the construction work to be done by the community, and thanked Trainor and the council for hearing that plea.
In seconding the motion, councillor Owen Jackson said he also saw the new proposal as “better than what we had before”.
“I’m comfortable that we are making the right decision.”
Cr Peter Burt echoed that sentiment, and agreed the new concept was better.
Scott asked to change the wording of the recommendation to include a budget of $24m for the first stage (the theatre upgrade). Shannon said stood by the original wording and was confident Trainor would find the savings. Jackson agreed with Shannon.
However, Cr Michelle Pye supported a change in the wording for a budget “up to $24m” . The wording was changed and a vote was taken, with councillors unanimously supporting the set budget. Mayor Nigel Bowen abstained from the vote.
Councillor Allan Booth then raised concern about proceeding without consultation.
Councillor Sally Parker said she supported 1B and not going back out for public consultation.
“This is the direction the community has given us,” Parker said.
“I think we just need to get on and do it now.”
Pye said Option1B “unites us” and strikes the right balance between retaining heritage and delivering value for ratepayers.
She said she did not think they needed to consult again as they know what the community wants.
Councillor Gavin Oliver said he came to the meeting with the idea of supporting a new theatre, and he thought that would deliver for the generations who would end up paying for it.
Piddington said he was of a similar thought, and he would like to see any new plan consulted on.
A vote on progressing with the first stage one of Option 1B, with a budget of $24m (not including the MBIE funding of $6.8m) passed six votes to three, with Bowen abstaining.
Councillors Parker, Jackson, Burt, Scott, Shannon and Pye were in favour. Councillors Booth, Oliver and Piddington were against with the latter requesting it be noted his vote was based on the lack of consultation.