Masterton Town Hall Demolition Decision Draws Near

Friday, 18 April 2025, 1:03 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

The future of Masterton’s town hall and municipal buildings hangs in the balance, with a hearing at Copthorne to determine whether they will be demolished.

Of about 60 written submissions to the council’s resource consent application for demolition, 36% wanted the consent granted as is, 54% opposed granting a consent, and 10% wanted the consent granted with conditions.

Almost a dozen people were set to present in person on Tuesday, including developer David Borman, former Masterton Mayor Bob Francis, historian Ian Grant, and Lyn Riley, president of the Masterton Ratepayers and Residents Association.

The current town hall in Masterton was deemed earthquake-prone in 2016 and has been closed ever since.

The council resolved last year to demolish the town hall and municipal buildings and build anew with a total budget of no more than $25 million.

Borman and Francis both supported the council’s proposal and would speak to their submissions on Tuesday.

No additional details were included in their written submissions.

Grant, who wrote his submission with his wife Diane, said there was “absolutely no need to rush the town hall decision” because the Government had extended the timetable for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings by four years.

He said the facade and non-earthquake-prone areas should be retained and restored.

Riley, on behalf of the Masterton Ratepayers and Residents Association, said the project should be paused until essential infrastructure projects were completed and the impact of water rates under Local Water Done Well was understood.

“Given inflation, high unemployment, struggling businesses, and increased rates arrears, rushing ahead with demolition is financially imprudent,” she said.

“Moreover, with few heritage buildings remaining in Masterton, demolishing these structures would erase a key part of Masterton’s history and cultural heritage.”

Riley said there was “no firm commitment by the council to rebuild because it is impossible within the $25m budget allowed”.

She said demolishing the building “for what will potentially become a car park without clear plans on a way forward”, was poor governance.

“We strongly urge the council to slow down, reconsider its approach, and prioritise decommissioning and mothballing the buildings until the full impact of upcoming water rate increases is understood with the consequential impact on ratepayers.

“This is the most fiscally responsible path forward for our community.”

Submitter Peter Debney, who would present at the hearing on Tuesday, supported the demolition and said nine years of delay to this project had burdened ratepayers with maintenance, insurance, and security costs.

“It is way past the time for council to take affirmative action and demolish the town hall and build a facility fit for purpose.”

Submitter Toby Mills, who has a background in event management supported all aspects of the council’s application and said it demolition was “the best solution for allowing our town to move forward”.

“The council has completed numerous consultations as outlined in the application and the community clearly reflected that the cost of repairing the building is unaffordable and will remain so.

“The best solution is therefore to knock it down as quickly as possible so that the community can start to think about what might go in its place.”

Cost estimates from consultants RPS showed the cheapest option, aside from demolition and no replacement, was to decommission the town hall and municipal buildings at a cost of $6.1m.

The next cheapest options were to strengthen the town hall and municipal building to 34% NBS at a cost of $26m, or strengthen the town hall and municipal building to 80% NBS for $29.6m.

Demolishing the town hall and municipal buildings and building anew would cost $34.7m. It was this option the council was pursuing and also had the lowest risk of cost and time overruns.

This same option, but with the retention of the existing facade would cost $38m.

The most expensive option was demolishing the town hall and civil defence building, strengthening and extending the municipal building, and building a new town hall, which would cost $52m.

If a consent was granted, the council would ensure elements of the old town hall were incorporated in the new town hall facility, including salvaging materials during the demolition phase that could be re-used in the new build.

The resource consent hearing would continue on Tuesday at 9.30am at Copthorne in Masterton.

Commissioner Alistair Auburn was appointed to the hearing.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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