Hall delays come at a cost
A $550,000 project to earthquake strengthen Waitara’s War Memorial Hall is behind schedule, almost a year after it started, and the cost has gone up by almost $400,000.
And the delay has had a knock-on effect for this month’s three-day Taranaki Country Music Festival, which has had to rustle up a new home.
The hall was closed about a year ago for the work, which was meant to take about four months provided there were no unexpected surprises, the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) had said.
Waitara Community Board chair Jonathan Marshall said there had been several delays, including finding asbestos dust in the ceiling, which had held up other parts of the work.
It was frustrating because it should have been finished in June last year, he said. ‘‘It’s just gone on too long.’’
Groups had moved away from the hall and ‘‘got quite comfortable’’ in their alternative facilities, he said.
NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said in an emailed statement the hall is about 65 years old, and ‘‘projects on buildings this old often come with some unexpected issues’’.
‘‘In this case we discovered asbestos which we had to remove, and we had to make sure this was carefully managed using the right processes to ensure safety.
‘‘We’re hoping to finish the project by the middle of the year if there are no further surprises.’’
The expected cost has also gone up to $915,000, due to the asbestos and ‘‘some issues from the original construction which have also been fixed’’.
As a result Taranaki Country Music
Festival organisers Jocelyn and George Tuahine have had to move to the Clifton Park Sports and Community Hub at short notice.
Jocelyn Tuahine said in November they had tried to confirm the hall would be ready for their already-booked festival, which runs from Friday, February 14 to Sunday, February 16, and were told the work would be finished in December.
Then, on January 24, ‘‘they rang us and said we couldn’t have the hall’’.
They were given the Clifton Park venue for the same price as the Hall – $1100 for the three days – but faced additional costs running into the thousands, including security.
And this week they were told that more than 100 motorhomes attending cannot park in the grounds.
‘‘There’s just a lot more work and a lot more involved and a lot more cost.’’
However, the festival, which has sold out the last two years and also won the 2018 Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Events and Attractions Excellence Award, will still go ahead with popular artists including Chris Powley, Joy Adams, Dennis August and Ivan Broughton.
Tickets are available from the organisers or Eventfinda.