Town Hall Submission Deadline Looming

Friday, 31 January 2025, 8:41 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

Less than two weeks remain for people to have their say on a consent to demolish Masterton’s town hall and municipal buildings.

So far, nine submissions have been made.

Russell Hooper Consulting lodged the resource consent to demolish the earthquake-prone buildings on December 20 on behalf of Masterton District Council.

As part of the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan process, the council voted to demolish and build a new town hall, including a performance and function space, all at a cost of “no more than $25 million”, including contingency.

However, in a report supporting the application, consultants RPS Group said the demolition and a new build was estimated to cost $34.7m excluding GST.

This estimate was based on limited information as a replacement building had not yet been developed.

In a post to his Facebook page Masterton Matters, Mayor Gary Caffell said it had been “frustrating but not altogether surprising” that people had implied “there is something secret about council’s plans to demolish the town hall and municipal buildings”.

It followed concern raised on social media that the consent application appeared to be going under the radar over the holiday period.

In a press statement, Caffell encouraged people to “read the application and tell us what they think, whether that’s in support of or in opposition to the plan”.

Because the council is the applicant, independent commissioners would be appointed prior to the closure of the submission period.

Following the closure of submissions, the council had 25 working days to organise a hearing.

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

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