Timaru’s theatre and museum must be completed by December 2026 to get funding

Wednesday, 4 June 2025

Councillors voted to go ahead with the $29.2m Theatre Royal redevelopment, and an $18m museum next to it, at a meeting on May 6.

The government ministry overseeing the administration of ‘shovel ready’ funding for projects has confirmed a December 2026 deadline for Timaru to redevelop its Theatre Royal and build a new museum next door.

On Tuesday, Kay Read, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Kanoa Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit general manager regions, said in March it had agreed to an extension of the completion date, to December 2026, “at the request of the Timaru District Council”.

The Timaru Herald has requested copies of the documentation outlining the agreement between the two parties, but is yet to receive one.

“In October 2020, the Timaru Theatre Upgrade and Heritage Facility project was approved for $11.6 million from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund …

“The approved scope of the project is to upgrade the existing Theatre Royal, together with the design and construction of a new heritage facility including museum exhibition space,” Read said.

Timaru District Council’s project to redevelop the town’s Theatre Royal was given $11.6 million in government funding in October 2020.

She said the project contract outlined the “ongoing expectations and obligations of both parties” for the combined project which is expected to cost about $47.2m.

As of December, $4.82m of the $11.6m had been spent, accounting for more than half the funds spent on the project to that point, $8.742m.

It is one of four projects in Canterbury, of the 28 granted funding under the scheme, which are yet to be completed. Those funded included the Ashburton District Library and Civic Centre which was granted considerably more than Timaru’s Theatre Royal project, with a $20m contribution to the $62.75m project, which opened in January 2024.

Timaru District Council chief executive Nigel Trainor said the government funding would be off the table if the council did not go ahead with both the Theatre Royal redevelopment and a plan to build a new museum.

At a meeting on May 6, councillors had a lengthy discussion about the projects, before voting to go ahead with both - six votes to three. Mayor Nigel Bowen did not vote.

During that meeting there appeared to be some confusion over exactly what was expected of the council, in terms of its eligibility to receive the rest of the $11.6m in ‘shovel ready funding’, and when the project had to be completed.

At the time, chief executive Nigel Trainor told councillors both projects needed to be done at the same time to secure the funding, and the council had been given a deadline of December 2026 to finish them.

“They were non-negotiable, this is the date,” Trainor said, of MBIE.

“Otherwise the money is off the table.”

At the time, councillor Stu Piddington said it was news to him that they had been given a deadline.

Councillor Stu Piddington said he wanted to see in writing what it was that MBIE expected of the council, in terms of it remaining eligible for the ‘shovel ready’ funding.

The council’s group manager environmental services, Paul Cooper, said MBIE had indicated that if the council was to “veer off” its indicated timeline for completion of the projects, the funding would be “significantly at risk”.

To which Piddington responded: “So … we’ve gone from [a strict deadline] … it’s gone to ‘significantly at risk’, can we actually get from them, in writing, what it is?

“Because I’m nervous for the ratepayers that we’re going to suddenly join these two projects in a hurry … history tells us, on our vertical builds, that they always go over.”

Trainor said: “We have it in writing … the funding is split into two components but it’s connected.”

Councillor Stacey Scott, above, was one of two councillors who voted against the recommendation on May 6 and said she would have supported a decision to give Nigel Trainor delegated authority of up to $24m for the project.

“Once we sign the contract … for the theatre we can draw a certain proportion down. And then we will also draw the second proportion down for the museum when that contract is signed,” he said.

Prior to voting to go ahead with a recommendation to approve the $29.2m budget for the Theatre Royal and build a new museum at the same time, concerns were raised about the potential cost of the project blowing out, again.

The museum has a budget of $15m, with an additional $3m to be raised through fundraising.

Two councillors who voted against the recommendation, Piddington and Stacey Scott, said they would have supported a decision to give Trainor delegated authority to commit up to $24m to the project.

On May 7, The Timaru Herald asked the council to provide a copy of the correspondence from MBIE.

Under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act the council must provide a response as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 20 working days after it is made.

The following day, May 8, the council was asked to release the letter without delay.

It did not, but responded: “… the team are working on this and will have it to you as soon as possible”.

On May 21, The Timaru Herald followed up the request and questioned the delay in releasing the information.

The council responded: “Council officers are working on getting the information you have requested to you as soon as possible.”

That was two weeks ago.