Hard answers sought on theatre

The head of a large construction firm in Nelson has thrown down the gauntlet to the Nelson City Council to come clean on aspects of the Theatre Royal's refurbishment, which he says could never have been re-fitted for $4 million.

Roger Gibbons, of Gibbons Holdings who last year expressed concern about the council's "history of mismanagement" when speaking about the planned performing arts centre, said today that the Theatre Royal was a case in point.

The Nelson Historic Theatre Trust made another approach to the council in a confidential workshop in December last year, requesting a further $300,000 loan to complete the theatre's final fit-out.

The theatre upgrade was announced in April 2001, when it was estimated to cost $1.2 million to do up. The figure has now grown to over $6m. In recent years the Nelson and Tasman councils have provided financial support, mainly in the form of loans.

In June 2007 the Nelson City Council agreed to fund the Theatre Royal $805,000 and not $609,000 as reported in yesterday's Mail. In November 2007 the Theatre Royal Trust used a $300,000 council underwrite to secure a $2.9m government grant. The loan was not drawn down.

In June last year the council agreed to a $1.2m loan towards engineering services. A request at the same time for an $800,000 grant to help with the final fit-out was turned down, leading to the current request for help, trust chairman Greg Shaw said this week.

Mr Gibbons said hard questions needed to be asked, and answers provided on the project's development to this point.

"The trustees will have to provide full disclosure before the council gives any more money. The council should never approve or support any project unless it's properly priced and costed, and that has to be done at the planning stage," Mr Gibbons said.

Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall said today that his council had inherited a project already well under way.

Mr Marshall said Mr Gibbons had made a good point about process but "we have a building that will be finished and the council will support that otherwise we will end up with another half-finished building".

- © Fairfax NZ News

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