Ashburton’s $62.1 million library and civic centre is already getting a fresh coat of wood staining just over two years after opening.
Te Whare Whakatere opened in January 2024, and this month, its cedar façade and other external timber are being restained
Council chief executive Hamish Riach said the cost for the contractor to re-stain the timber is $32,561 (plus GST).
“There are additional traffic management costs which will be confirmed at the completion of the work, as this final cost will depend on the length of time that traffic management is in place.”
That cost is lower than the $70,000 budget that was in the 2025/26 annual plan budget deliberations.
Construction of the library and civic centre began in January 2021 and was originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.
It was instead hampered by delays, driven by the impacts of the Covid pandemic and extreme weather events pushing the opening back just over 12 months later than planned.
It also means the wooden exterior had been in place for almost four years, but Riach said it was not a case of rapid weathering of the timber.
“The re-staining is an expected, and regular requirement of Te Whare Whakatere’s building maintenance.”
Te Whare Whakatere opened with the expectation that the bigger, modern building would cost more to operate than the separate old library and council building.
Its first full financial year of operation, 2024/25, cost $848,589 to run the facility – excluding depreciation, overheads, and library activity costs.
Riach previously said the three largest contributors to that total were insurance ($329,123), electricity ($166,711), and cleaning contracts ($138,080) – equating to $633,914 or 75 per cent of the total cost.
The first six months to the end of the 2023/24 financial year cost $381,247 to run the building, more than it cost to run the two previous buildings combined across their final full year of operation.
The maintenance means the footpath outside Te Whare Whakatere and parts of Baring Square East Road will be closed for two weeks due to the contractors working at height, from elevated work platforms.
Access to the building is still through the main doors on Baring Square East as well as the side door on Havelock Street.
Some parking spaces on Baring Square East may also be affected, though mobility parking will still be available.
In the final few days of the work, the road will be closed to all vehicles.
