Trafalgar Centre report and recommendation received

16 July 2015

At an Extraordinary Council Meeting today, Nelson City Council’s project manager, Richard Kirby, presented his draft report and recommendation on the future of the Trafalgar Centre.

It is based on the advice from the engineering firm, ARUP, which was commissioned by Council to carry out additional site-specific seismic testing on the stability of the ground and the building, supplementing the initial research conducted by Tonkin & Taylor.

Project manager, Richard Kirby, says he is pleased with the draft report he has been able to present to Council and believes it offers a smart and cost-effective solution to Councillors.

“If Council proceeds with this work, Nelson will end up with a fully functional, strengthened building which should last for at least the next 50 years.

“The total cost of all the work is expected to cost just under $13 million ($12.956 million).

“The cost of entirely demolishing and rebuilding would be $25-30 million, whereas this option allows Council to create a fabulous entertainment and sports complex which we believe will perform adequately during moderate earthquake events,” he says.

Highlights of the draft report include:

-Less ground improvement is needed than was first thought.

-The glulam portals inside the Trafalgar Centre are brittle and need strengthening.

-The foundations in the main stadium need to be tied together with new tie rods.

-In the Southern Extension, all the braces are brittle and require replacing with more ductile bracing.

-A recommendation to demolish the Northern Building (including the Victory Room) and replace it with a more functional fit-for-purpose northern building.

Mr Kirby’s recommendation has the main building of the Trafalgar Centre and the Southern Extension opening by the end of March 2016, and the northern building by the end of June.

The Trafalgar Centre would be available for bookings (under a limited capacity until the northern building is complete) from March 2016.

The Nelson Mayor, Rachel Reese, says she is pleased that Council now has the opportunity to secure the future of the Trafalgar Centre once and for all.

“Based on the figures that were originally presented in the previous term of council we were concerned that earthquake strengthening the Trafalgar Centre was going to place too heavy a burden on the ratepayers.

“Our focus has been on achieving a cost-effective solution which would allow us to reopen the Trafalgar Centre with confidence and pride.

“We all know what a significant contribution the Trafalgar Centre brings to our cultural and economic life in the CBD through the events hosted there, and it’s been a priority to return that to our city.

“It has not been an easy process, in fact the Trafalgar Centre is now being used as a case study by ARUP engineers in both London and California, due to the complexities they have faced in analysing the ground and building.

“The fact that the Trafalgar Centre is now being held up as an international case study of the benefits of site-specific seismic analysis, underscores what a complicated and difficult decision Council has faced,” she says.

Council will make a decision on the future of the Trafalgar Centre on 23rd July.

ENDS

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