Delays confirmed for Strathallan Corner redevelopment in Timaru’s CBD

Thursday, 24 July 2025

An assurance that a $1.6 million redevelopment of Timaru’s Strathallan Corner would be completed by the end of July was now “a little optimistic”, according to district council staff.

The admission, from the council’s infrastructure group manager Andrew Dixon at Tuesday’s Timaru District Council meeting, came after he and council development manager Rosie Oliver were grilled about the project by councillors.

The upgrade, which is part of the council’s $34m CityTown project that aims to create a masterplan for the long-term development of Timaru’s CBD, began in May with the demolition of public toilets on the site.

Meanwhile, a significant step is about to be taken in the long-awaited $47.2 million project to redevelop Timaru’s Theatre Royal and build a museum, as demolition work starts this week.

Oliver, responding to questions from councillor Stu Piddington about elements of the design, said it was “still being finessed between [engineering firm] WSP and our project manager’’.

She said the final design was “going to look really, really similar’’ but engineers had looked closely at the site and it had been found the impact of a slope on the site had “meant it is a more complex matter than hoped, to achieve the gradients for accessibility and to fit all the desired components in’’.

“They are almost there, and obviously we have kept momentum up on all of those elements which are dependent on the final details so things are still progressing.’’

Oliver did not have a date for when that could be completed because the project manager had not been in the office.

“But you should have that design very shortly, and it should look very like what you’ve already seen, except that the exact location and placement of the ramps has been finessed to the millimetre.’’

Councillor Stacey Scott said she was struggling to understand why so many design changes were being made “when we’ve already signed off on something’’.

“What are the cost implications to all these changes? Why are we making significant changes to a project when it’s already under way?’’ she asked.

“This is in the paper every week and I can see why.’’

Oliver said: “The very short plain English answer is that what we approved in February was a picture, and it didn’t have any dimensions or levels on it.”

She said once engineers had got into the site they had identified the exact height of some areas such as an underground chamber, and there was “no inherent cost implication of that’’.

“It’s all very well to draw a ramp curving nicely through the site, but actually exactly how long does it need to be and where does it stop and end to achieve the gradient, that’s what’s being finessed,’’ Oliver said.

Scott then asked how a cost for the project had been decided, and whether the refined designs had altered the cost.

Dixon said the design changes are “fairly minor changes and haven’t really impacted the cost too much’’.

“Flipping the terraces, changing the curvature ‒ instead of curving inwards, it’s curving outwards ‒ much the same quantities,’’ he said.

He said the costs had been estimated from Quality Surveyors numbers.

“We’ve also been getting some pretty good prices from contractors as well and so demolition costs came in under budget,’’ she said.

“The toilet installation is also coming in under budget.’’

Councillor Sally Parker, also the infrastructure committee chairperson, said councillors were told at the last committee meeting last month that the redevelopment would be completed by the end of July.

“We’re the 22nd of July today, any comments?’’ she asked.

Dixon said that date had been “very optimistic’’.

“We have unfortunately had a number of challenges,’’ he said.

One of those challenges was cabling found under the site that “no-one knew about’’.

“Alpine cables, they didn’t know about them either, so there’s a number of challenges.

“It’s a difficult site to work with, so a little optimistic, I have to confess, but we’ll get it done as soon as we can.’’

When Parker asked for a new completion date, Dixon said “I’ll have to get you that’’.

Piddington further questioned a slope at the top corner of the site, adjacent to the ANZ bank, which was “quite high’’.

“I’m worried by the time we put a width in for a wheelchair we’re going to zigzag down and take up half that site, or is that not the case?’’

Oliver said: “To the point that councillor Scott raised as well, other than the terraces changing the shape of the curvature, everything else, when we give you the final detailed design, will look like the original concept.

“So it’s about the exact curvature of the ramp having flexed ever so slightly, being a few centimetres longer or shorter.”

Scott then asked if Oliver was confirming all regulations for accessibility were being met in the redevelopment.

“They sure will,’’ Oliver said.

On Tuesday, wheelchair user Jonathan Nelson raised concerns about the accessibility of the new toilets in the project.

Mayor Nigel Bowen told the meeting he had contacted Nelson that morning and Oliver was to meet with him on Wednesday.

“So the widths and dimensions, etcetera, and standards of those toilets are the same as some of the ones we’ve put in recently, such as Anzac Sq.’’

Nelson said it had been “a good positive meeting’’ and the council had taken his concerns on board.