Nelson RSA urges action on Stoke hall
The hall was closed in March 2020 after a detailed seismic assessment found the building to be only 17% of the New Building Standard (NBS).
Three years after the closure of the Stoke Memorial Hall, the Nelson Returned and Services Association (RSA) is urging Nelson City Council to act on the fate of the beleaguered building.
‘‘The hall remains there being unused,’’ said local RSA committee member Ian Barker. ‘‘The community of Stoke would like to see it used again.’’
Barker said that the hall was subsidised dollar for dollar by the government when it was built on the condition that it be kept ‘‘before us and the generations to follow us.’’
‘‘The Nelson RSA believes that there was a commitment, virtually a social ongoing contract, to keep the hall for the use of Stoke residents in perpetuity.’’
The hall was closed in March 2020 after a detailed seismic assessment found the building to be only 17% of the New Building Standard (NBS).
Council officers were directed to carry out design work to get the hall strengthened to 67% of NBS and report back on the cost.
But in 2021, the detailed strengthening design showed that the work required to strengthen the building to 67% of NBS would be much more extensive than previously expected.
‘‘Nearly every component of the building would need to be removed and replaced for strengthening to occur,’’ said Martin Croft, the council’s acting group manager community services.
‘‘The project was now essentially a rebuild and the cost increased to over $4.3 million.’’
That cost is more than double the $2m council had originally allocated in its 2021-31 LongTerm Plan for strengthening, and so a detailed business case has been commenced and options will be brought to council for discussion and direction this year.
With a rebuild potentially coming in cheaper than strengthening, all Nelson RSA president Zoe Norquay asks is that council ‘‘keep the name’’ at the very least.
‘‘We’re concerned about the protection of the heritage of Stoke,’’ Barker added. ‘‘The name – the Stoke Memorial Hall – that’s the name that commemorates [the fallen soldiers].’’
The Building Act requires the seismic hazards identified at the hall to be addressed by September 26, 2029.