There is currently no formal proposal or decision to amalgamate Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council.

The Government is discussing possible changes to local government, but Nelson would still need library, community and civic spaces, no matter how councils are set up in future.

Any major governance change would take years to work through, and is a possibility that shouldn't stop this project from moving forward. The problems with Civic House and Elma Turner Library are real now, and waiting longer would increase costs and the risk of sudden closures.

The detailed design will come later, but there will be time to make adjustments if there is a change. The detailed design phase will take into consideration how the building can adapt over time as community needs and services change.

We recognise that cost of living pressures are weighing on our community and it is something Council is very aware of. This project is a long-term investment, funded over 30 years, and projects of this scale take years to plan, and construction will be timed to take advantage of competitive pricing and get the best deal for ratepayers.

Council has considered carrying out minimum repairs, and doing nothing at all, but neither is sustainable long term. Even the bare minimum would still require earthquake strengthening and roof work and running costs on both the library and Civic House buildings would keep rising every year regardless of what is chosen.

If nothing is done, the library risks being lost altogether. This is an essential community space that would be a significant loss for Nelson. The library was closed for more than a year after its ceiling tiles were found to pose an earthquake risk. The repairs that followed only bought another 5 to 10 years and were only ever intended as a short-term solution.

Civic House hasn't had significant investment in 35 years. The building leaks, black mould has been found in some areas, key systems need replacing, and its condition is only getting worse the longer it's left. The top floor has been closed since 2022 because the roof of the building is earthquake-prone.

These buildings cannot continue in their current state for much longer. The best option is to commit to a proper fix, one that brings both buildings together in a way that will better serve the community for generations to come.

Council has already decided, following the business case approved in August 2024, that Civic House and Elma Turner Library need to be replaced or rebuilt, and that bringing together library, community and civic functions into one facility is the preferred way forward.

This consultation is about location. Council is asking the community which of the three shortlisted locations they prefer, and what matters most when comparing them, including cost, access, parking, convenience, design flexibility, city-centre impact and build time.

The Long Term Plan 2024–2034 already provides $68.4 million for this project. Each of the three shortlisted options costs more than this amount, so choosing a location also means choosing how much extra it will cost on top of what's already budgeted. After consultation, Council will choose a location and confirm the budget for that option. That budget will then be included in the Long Term Plan 2027–2037.

Once a location has been chosen, there will be further opportunities to provide feedback on the detailed design, including what goes inside the building and how the spaces work together.

Council has been investigating the future of Nelson’s library and civic spaces for the past five years.

Council considered a range of options through the business case and site assessment process. This included looking at different ways to address the problems with Civic House and Elma Turner Library, as well as different locations and delivery models.

Council has considered a range of alternatives, including:

• continuing with ongoing maintenance and minimum upgrades

• demolishing Civic House

• splitting Council services across multiple buildings

• a range of other potential sites and development models

These options were not progressed because they either:

• did not address the long-term issues with Civic House and Elma Turner Library

• left significant maintenance, compliance or space limitations unresolved

• created higher operational costs

• did not meet the project requirements identified through the business case and site assessment process.

The three current options were carried forward following technical, financial and planning assessment.

Council investigated whether Civic House and Elma Turner Library could continue operating with limited upgrades and ongoing maintenance.

Both buildings have ageing systems and ongoing maintenance requirements. Civic House is structurally sound, but has failing building systems, compliance issues, leaks, toxic mould in some areas, and an earthquake-prone roof that has forced the top floor to close.

Elma Turner Library also needs a long-term solution. The building closed in 2022 because it was not safe in an earthquake, then reopened in 2024 after repairs. Those repairs brought the building up to 67% of the new building standard, but the structure itself remains at about 34%. Those repairs helped in the short term, but they did not fix the building for the long term. The building still has structural limitations, ageing systems, rising running costs and layout constraints.

Council considered that continuing with minimum upgrades would not resolve the underlying issues with the buildings, reduce the risk of operational disruption enough, or address the limitations identified through previous community feedback. Continuing to defer the problem would also increase maintenance costs.

Even the bare minimum would require earthquake strengthening and roof repairs to the upper floors of Civic House. A major system failure could still lead to large, unplanned costs at short notice.

Council considered a broad range of options and sites before narrowing the project to the current shortlist.

Council ran a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) in 2024, asking the market to propose sites or buildings it could purchase or lease. Those responses were assessed alongside the separate investigation into refurbishing Civic House, and fed into the current shortlist.

This consultation focuses on the three options that progressed through the business case and site assessment process. The purpose of the consultation is to gather feedback on those options and the factors that matter most to the community.

The location needs to be decided first because it affects what can be built on the site, how the spaces connect together, accessibility, parking and how the facility connects with the city centre.

Detailed design work will be progressed after a preferred location is finalised. The current images are concept images only. They show how each option could work at a high level, but they are not final designs.

Once a preferred option is selected, detailed design work will look more closely at layout, entrances, public spaces, accessibility, materials, internal spaces and how the building will operate.

The consultation document uses three cost figures because each one answers a different question.

The upfront cost is the amount Council would spend to build each option. It includes land, building, design and staff moving costs, then subtracts money from selling buildings Council no longer needs.

The long-term cost shows the full cost of each option over its full lifespan, shown in today’s money. It includes upfront costs and ongoing costs, such as land rent and day-to-day costs, and subtracts future money Council could receive, such as from selling buildings.

The rates impact shows what the project would cost a property with an average residential land value of $405,000. This includes the costs already accounted for in the Long Term Plan and the extra amount that depends on which location is chosen. The figure shown in the consultation material is the peak annual amount. It would reduce year on year as the related debt is repaid.

The $405,000 is the land value only, not the value of the house and land together.

The long-term cost can appear lower than the upfront cost because future costs and future income are converted into today’s money. It is a way of comparing the options fairly over time.

The Collingwood Street option has no upfront land purchase cost because the land is owned by Wakatū Incorporation and is not for sale. Council would lease the land for up to 150 years and own the building. This lowers the upfront cost, but Council would pay ongoing rent for the land. Those payments are included in the long-term cost, which is why the Collingwood Street option has the highest long-term cost of the three options.

For a property with an average residential land value of $405,000, total rates are currently around $4,786 per year for 2025/26, including GST.

See “How should I compare the costs of the three options?” above for what upfront cost, long-term cost and rates impact each mean.

The debt for this project is at its highest once the building is complete, giving a peak rates impact of about $207 (incl. GST) a year. The annual amount would then reduce year on year as the debt for the project is repaid. Only the additional $24, $44 or $71 is new, depending on which location Council chooses.

Each option costs more than the amount already included in the Long Term Plan. The additional peak rates impact would be:

• Civic House option: approximately $24 more per year
• Collingwood Street option: approximately $44 more per year
• Church Street option: approximately $71 more per year.

That means the total peak annual rates impact for the project would be:

• Civic House option: approximately $231 per year
• Collingwood Street option: approximately $251 per year
• Church Street option: approximately $278 per year.

These figures are for the peak year, including GST.

The cost estimates are early, high-level estimates based on December 2025 prices. They have been independently prepared by Rider Levett Bucknall and Willis Bond.

They allow for design and building risks, but they do not include future inflation. The final price will not be known until the chosen option has been designed and a builder contracted.

All project costs exclude GST. All rates figures include GST.

The rates impact figures cover interest, funded depreciation and land rent for the project. They do not include other running costs, which are expected to stay much the same whichever option is chosen.

Refurbishing existing buildings can carry greater uncertainty than a new build because hidden issues may only be found once building work begins. Once a preferred location is chosen, the detailed design process will refine the costs further.

If costs change, those changes would need to be managed through Council’s normal planning, budgeting and decision-making processes. Rising prices would be considered through future plans.

The options have different costs because they involve different sites, construction approaches, ownership arrangements and levels of project risk.

For example:

• the Civic House option involves a mix of refurbishment and new build, including Civic House, the Savings Bank site and the State Advances building
• the Collingwood Street option involves an up to 150-year ground lease
• the Church Street option involves purchasing land and constructing a new building.

Each option also has different construction, land and long-term financing costs.

Building refurbishment can carry greater uncertainty because there may be hidden issues in the existing building that only become apparent during construction.

For the Collingwood Street option, Council would enter a ground lease of up to 150 years for the Wakatū-owned land and would own the new building. The existing buildings would need to be removed or demolished.

For the Church Street option, Council would purchase the land and the existing buildings would need to be removed or demolished.

In both cases, existing tenants would need to move before building work could start. How that happens would be worked through with the current landowners and affected tenants.

Under the Civic House option, the building would undergo substantial refurbishment, including some changes to the exterior appearance and upgrades to the public-facing areas. The option would refurbish Civic House and rebuild the Savings Bank site next door as a new three-level library and community hub, and would include the State Advances building as well.

The heritage frontage of the State Advances building would be retained.

Because this option works with existing buildings as well as new construction, there are some physical constraints within the existing spaces that cannot be changed, such as ceiling heights, column spacing and the overall building shape.

The current concepts are indicative only.

The current concept images are simplified and do not show every final exterior detail, including the clock face. The clock face is an existing Civic House feature, and the detailed design phase would show how it is incorporated into the final design.

All three options include a library as part of the wider civic and community facility.

The current Elma Turner Library building has physical and layout limitations that affect how the space can be used, including the number and size of the community spaces available. The library would remain open to the public throughout the construction period for the new Civic Hub building.

This consultation is about location. The detailed design stage would look at how library services, programmes, opening hours, collections, community spaces and public areas are arranged within the chosen site.

The project brings together:

• library services
• community and meeting spaces
• customer-facing Council services
• Council offices and Council Chamber
• civic functions within a single facility

The intention is to provide a central location where people can access community, library and Council services.

Potential partnerships or shared spaces and opportunities to work with other groups will be considered during future design phases.

Council has not chosen a preferred option. Community feedback will help inform Council’s decision alongside technical, financial and planning advice.

Council considered different approaches, including splitting services across multiple buildings.

The business case process identified advantages in locating library, community and civic functions together in one facility, including shared spaces and reduced duplication across sites. Operating across multiple buildings would also cost more.

Under the Collingwood Street and Church Street options, Civic House could be sold for housing and commercial use in the city centre.

Under the Civic House option, the building would remain in Council ownership and be refurbished.

In every option, the Elma Turner Library site would be sold.

Under the two new-build options, Council services could continue operating from Civic House and Elma Turner Library until the new facility is complete.

Under the Civic House refurbishment option, staff would likely need to relocate during construction, or construction would need to occur in stages over a longer period. Building work would take about 41 months if staff move out fully. If staff stay on site and move around in stages, it could take about 63 months and would be more disruptive and may impact services. The Elma Turner Library would continue to operate as normal until the new facility is complete.

The consultation material includes natural hazard information for each site.

• Civic House is within a high flood and liquefaction risk zone
• The Collingwood Street and Church Street options are both outside the flood plain

Natural hazards are one of several factors Council is asking the community to consider alongside cost, accessibility and location. Any new building would be designed to meet current earthquake and resilience standards.

Parking availability differs between the three options.

The consultation material includes a map showing nearby parking areas, bus routes and the Nelson Bus Hub. The option pages also include information about nearby off-street parking and walking distances, so people can compare accessibility and convenience as part of their feedback.

Wakatū Square is about 100 metres from Civic House, Buxton carpark is about 200 metres from the Collingwood Street site, and Montgomery Square is about 230 metres from the Church Street site.

The Church Street option also includes the option to close Church Street to traffic and turn it into a new public space.

However, the street closure and public space upgrade are not included in the main cost summary. They are estimated to cost an additional $1 million to $3 million, depending on the extent of the upgrade. This would be subject to further public consultation before a decision on what will happen with the street would be made.

Part of the concept plan for the building would have it extend over Church Street on the upper floors, with a small public courtyard in the middle. A service lane would connect Hardy Street and Selwyn Place.