Half-a-million 'band-aid' fix for Stoke Library

More than half-a-million dollars will be spent on repairs for Stoke Library, the latest in a string of quick fixes for Nelson’s crumbling libraries.

Last Thursday, Nelson City Council approved $581,000 of spending for a leaky roof fix, skylight alteration, and new roof cladding.

Weather-tightness and structural remedial work was undertaken in 2019 to make the library building structurally safe and address leaks.

The 2019 repairs were only designed to maintain the building for about five years as major renovations were planned for the period 2018-2028.

But as the library redevelopment hasn't occurred, its temporary building consent is about to expire.

The additional repairs must be made to extend the temporary building consent and allow the library to continue to operate.

There was unanimous support for the decision from elected members.

Councillor Campbell Rollo described the library as a “place of thriving opportunity” for locals, while councillor Tim Skinner said it was important to keep the building open as Stoke has lost other services in recent years.

And while acting mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens supported the decision, they say the council needed to discuss the future of the city’s libraries.

“It’s one [issue] that has been pushed back and left to lie time and time again. We are reaching that critical point, both for Stoke and for Elma Turner, to say ‘what is the long-term future of these spaces?'”

Nelson’s beleaguered Elma Turner library in the city centre has been plagued by structural and seismic issues for several years.

It was closed in June last year and has since re-opened in stages as urgent strengthening work is completed for a total cost of $2.7 million.

The building's full re-opening is scheduled for February 2024.

The works are hoped to buy the building some time before the council can construct a new, fit-for-purpose library that’s cheaper than the abandoned plan for a $46 million facility beside the Maitai River.

“We need to keep these services there and present,” Rohan says.

“But it is again band-aids on a much wider and deeper issue that we’re going to need to confront through this [Long-Term Plan] to say ‘when are we going to start genuinely planning for the future of these sorts of key social community assets?’

“We can’t keep putting it off for another 10 years before we end up with a building that is quite literally falling apart at the seams.”

The funds for the Stoke Library had been budgeted for in the next financial year but were brought forward to this year.

Work is expected to be completed this financial year, which would allow for a 20-year extension to the building’s consent.