Councillors to be given update on Strathallan Corner project behind closed doors

Tuesday, 10 February 2026

The door will be closed when councillors are updated on a long-running, controversial council infrastructure project in Timaru’s CBD.

As work continues on the $1.6 million redevelopment of Strathallan Corner, a project originally set down to be completed by the end of July 2025, the Timaru District Council will talk about it in the public-excluded section of Tuesday’s projects and procurement committee meeting.

In the meeting agenda, it was listed as Strathallan Corner Redevelopment ‒ status update.

The reason for the discussion being held during the public-excluded section of the meeting was “to protect a person’s privacy, including the privacy of deceased persons. To enable council to carry out commercial activities’’.

The Theatre Royal and Museum project, the Aorangi Stadium project and an update on the Claremont Water Treatment Plant upgrade would also be discussed behind closed doors, the agenda said.

The project, which began in May 2025, had been hit by several delays, with the council’s chief executive Nigel Trainor calling for a review of the process, describing it at the time as a fundamental lesson in how not to do a project.

At the beginning of December, the council said its aim was for the corner to be completed by Christmas, dependent on the weather, but on December 23, general manager assets and infrastructure Andrew Dixon said “75% of the area will be open before Christmas’’.

At the time, he put the delays down to the weather and said the council was still waiting on handrails.

Work was still happening at the site on Monday.

The Timaru Herald asked for an update on the project on January 29, and what was still left to do.

A response was yet to be received.

In January, the council set the record straight on wood used on the outside walls of the new toilets installed as part of the project, after members of the public questioned its use on social media.

At the time, Dixon said the wood was reclaimed Australian hardwood timber from the Timaru wharf.

Dixon said the wood had been generously donated to the Strathallan Corner project by Jmac Joinery in Washdyke.

Holes visible in the wood were part of the history of its origin, as they were created by marine borers (such as sea worms, molluscs, and crustaceans), he said.

“These features do not indicate or cause any damage or weakness in the timber’s current condition.”

As part of the work, the bronze statue honouring the life of the world champion boxer Bob Fitzsimmons, one of Timaru’s most acclaimed sportsmen, was temporarily removed in April as work on the redevelopment began.

The statue, created by Margriet Windhausen, was donated to the people of Timaru by Sir Robert Jones in 1987 and unveiled at the site by Prime Minister David Lange.

The statue was moved back to the site in October.