Loo paper trail reveals $850,000 budget blowout for Tokoroa’s Leith Place redevelopment

Monday, 21 April 2025

Tokoroa’s award-winning dunnies and Leith Place redevelopment were plagued by cost overruns, with estimates coming in $852,000 over budget before a stone was even turned.

The Waikato Times first reported on the dodgy dunnies in July 2023, when South Waikato District Council deputy mayor Hamish Daine suggested they be bowled and replaced after multiple issues were identified with their operation - including inadequate pipework, which saw them constantly blocked and unusable.

Hamish Daine deputy mayor, wants to get the functionality of this space working better.

Repair estimates came in at over $1m, with former mayor Jenny Shattock and others suggesting staff had made mistakes during the design phase.

They are now being replaced with semi-transportable loos being built offsite and costing ratepayers $600,000.

According to information released to the Waikato Times under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA), the council began the design phase of the project in 2017, putting $1.5m aside for the project.

Tokoroa’s Leith Place redevelopment was to feature an I-Site building as well as public toilets but tenders for the job came in more than $850,000 over estimate before a stone was turned.

Former deputy mayor Bill Machen, who was on council at the time, said councillors flip-flopped multiple times over decisions to fund the overruns with loans, but eventually settled on a cheaper option, which led to the “shambles we’re in now”.

Initial designs included an I-Site building and additional lighting however, when it was built, a number of changes had been made to the design consulted on with the public.

The I-Site was dropped as well as the lighting to reduce costs, but details of what happened underground were not clear.

Machen said he believed the issue with inadequate piping would remain hidden until someone dug them up.

While Tokoroa’s ‘chainsaw man’ and talking poles were replaced, no one knew what was happening underground.

“They didn’t have enough fall, and were possibly undersized as well.

“Whether that was done for economic reasons or the engineering was not up to scratch, but it was a mistake.”

Deputy mayor Hamish Daine suggested the toilets be bowled after maintenance and repair costs got way out of hand.

Information from the council states the original budget was $3.92m, but tenders received in November 2018 were at least $852,000 over estimates, with acting council chief executive Ben Smit saying this was “due to the significant and rapid increases in construction market costs”.

“We want to assure our community that this project has been well investigated and costed.

“However, adequate savings without significant design changes are not possible in today’s construction market,” Smit said in an email to Shattock.

Former deputy mayor Bill Machen said mistakes were made during the installation of the toilets.

At a subsequent meeting, councillors voted six - five to go ahead with the project with the $850,000 shortfall to be covered by loans “to minimise the rate impact as much as possible,” Smit said.

A month later, in December 2018, the council advised locals it had decided not to go ahead with an I-Site building and would go back to the community with some revised plans, which included new toilets.

One year later, in November 2019, Shattock asked for details regarding funding for the entire project, which she received, but no mention was made about waste water concerns.

In December 2019, a decision was made to save $16,000 by removing “up lights” from the project.

It was at this time Shattock said there was no need to re-consult the public on the design as the council was just “showing people the design we had chosen”.

But in late April 2021, the day after the toilets won a regional architectural award, Shattock emailed all councillors saying they needed to fix issues with the redevelopment bought up at a meeting by Machen.

“That includes more lighting at night, changing the hand basins, ventilation - including putting fans in the toilets, fixing the locks, fixing the flushing and putting privacy screens in front of the doors, and finally, turning some of the seating around to face outwards and not facing the toilets,” Shattock said.

It was only in February of 2022, long after the project had been completed, that any issues over waster water were specifically mentioned.

In an email from Smit to Shattock, Smit said at the end of the 2021 financial year there was unfinished work in Leith Place and an unspent budget of $467,000.

Smit said the money would be spent on walkway artworks, the replacement of statues, and to “resolve waste water low flow issue from toilets”.

While the rest of the work was completed within budget, the waste water issue was not solved.