Nelson Hall ‘Languishing’ Five Years After Closure

Tuesday, 18 February 2025, 10:20 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

It’s almost been five years since the Stoke Memorial Hall closed, and with council funding not available for another two years, the local RSA is urging action on the empty building.

Nelson Returned Services Association (RSA) member and former six-term city councillor Ian Barker labelled the shuttered hall an “eyesore”.

“It’s just languishing, and people are wishing they could use it.”

The hall has been closed since March 2020 after the building was found to be earthquake prone, rating at only 17 per cent against the New Building Standard (NBS).

A business case put to Nelson City Council in mid-2023 put the estimated cost for a total rebuild or strengthening at between $3m and $6m, depending on scope.

The cheapest option would not include retaining the building’s façade while the most expensive option would see the building strengthened to 100 per cent of the NBS.

The council’s Long Term Plan process then saw indicative funding of $2.2 million secured for either remediation or deconstruction in the 2027/28 financial year.

Barker said it was not acceptable for the building to potentially sit unused for up to seven years before action was finally taken.

“It is very disappointing and very frustrating. It’s an asset that should be being used, and it's not.”

Local RSA president Barry Pont said Stoke's Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre isn’t large enough to cater to the organisation and so it had to host events elsewhere or turn them down entirely.

The centre’s largest room can hold a maximum of 180 people, provided it uses theatre-style seating arrangement, or 120 people for a seated dinner.

“It’s not just us. A lot of community organisations have to go to Richmond and use Club Waimea because there's nothing in Tāhuna and Stoke big enough,” Pont said.

He added that with the centre “booked out every day of the week”, Stoke needed another, larger community space, especially with the suburb's growing population.

Last Thursday, Barker and Pont presented to Nelson City Council asking that it “emerge from the inertia” and take “proactive action” to revitalise the hall.

It's the third time the RSA has presented to the council about the hall, first in December 2021, and then April 2023.

Elected members appeared sympathetic to the plea.

Councillor Matty Anderson said his service in the navy was part of his identity.

“When I hear that these memorials or spaces for ex-servicemen are being disrespected, it really bothers me.”

Stoke-Tāhunanui Ward councillor Campbell Rollo apologised for the council’s “lack of efforts” in re-opening the hall and hoped it could “do better” this year.

Deputy mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens described the situation as a “moving feast”, while councillor Matthew Benge said the issue “needed to be pushed”.

However, with a price tag of “many many millions”, Mayor Nick Smith asked the RSA if it would be prepared to financially contribute to any future work on the hall.

Pont said the RSA had set $600,000 aside in a trust for the welfare of the organisation’s members, but it would be up to the trust if they wanted to contribute any of those funds.

Barker added that Stoke residents would likely contribute to offset some of the cost.

“I have no doubt the community would again support anything that was being proposed.”

The Stoke Memorial Hall was built in the 1950s to serve as a “living memorial” to local servicemen who gave their lives during the World Wars, with every dollar contributed by the community matched by the Government of the day.

The RSA’s priority was ensuring the memorial gates at the front of the Marsden Recreation Ground and the memorial trees in the park were maintained, and so the organisation was open to the potential demolition of the hall if it was replaced with a new building.

“Just a decision would be wonderful,” Barker said, “because nothing’s happening.”

Mayor Nick Smith assured that no decision would be made on the future of the hall without community consultation.

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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