Ashburton’s Te Whare Whakatere opening delayed until 2024
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Construction delays will push the opening of Ashburton’s new library and civic centre into next year.
Te Whare Whakatere will not be ready as planned on December 18, and will instead open on January 22, council chief executive Hamish Riach said.
Riach said it had become clear in recent days that some parts of the complex would not be ready for business by December 18.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said it was disappointing, but an unavoidable reality.
“It’s taking longer than expected and we can’t do anything about it, it is what it is.
“We just really want to get that building finished.
“There are contractual elements that if the building is not completed by a certain date penalties can apply and we will be working through that.”
About 120 council staff will still relocate to the new building as planned by the end of the year, but the Ashburton Public Library’s move has been pushed back, Riach said.
"We are setting a new date for the library’s relocation and expect it to be open in the new building on January 22," Rach said.
The construction site shutdown over the Christmas and New Year break has had a knock-on effect, he said.
"While we’re really disappointed, we have to be realistic.
“The top floor, where most staff will work, and level one, will be complete as scheduled by December 18.
“Our builders will still be putting the finishing touches in the public areas on the ground floor past that date.”
There would be no public visitors or meetings there until the whole building is ready, Riach said.
"Our whole project team knew that getting everyone in by the end of the year was an important milestone and the effort over the last couple of months has been commendable, with more than 200 staff on site each day."
The build has been besieged by delays since construction began in January 2021, driven by the impacts of the Covid pandemic.
Coupled with inflationary pressures, the project's final cost will be over the budgeted $56.6 million.
The latest delay is not expected to add to the cost of the building Riach said.
A forecast earlier this year estimated the project would overrun its budget by up to 10%, which will be offset by the $20m shovel ready project grant from the Government.
The old library will now stay open until early January and then close for three weeks to allow for more than 60,000 books and other new resources to be relocated.
The council’s customer services team will continue to operate from the old administration building until the ground floor is finished and the new library opens on 22 January.
Staff working from Te Whare Whakatere from December 18 will include the regulatory, infrastructure, business support, democracy, and human resources teams.
A dawn blessing of the unfinished Te Whare Whakatere will continue as planned in December.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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