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A $120,000 grant has been pulled from the Dunedin physiotherapy pool upgrade because no-one yet knows when — or even if — it will happen.
And the Otago Therapeutic Pool Trust has confirmed a second grant, of $100,000, is subject to an extension review and a decision is awaited.
Pool trust secretary-treasurer Neville Martin declined to name the organisations, saying they were complying with their rules around time limits for community grants.
Mr Martin hopes to know more by June, when the Ministry of Health is expected to release a shortlist of site options for the $300 million Dunedin Hospital rebuild. He confirmed the pool trust was not privy to a "long-list" of options which was drawn up recently and not publicly released.
"If the shortlist is favourable for the pool, the trust and the SDHB may be able to recommence negotiations for a long-term lease," he said.
The upgrade was expected to reduce the pool’s running costs.
"The trustees have not yet been able to achieve the savings which an upgrade of the pool would have delivered.
"To avoid closure of the pool by the Southern District Health Board, the trust has been required to cover all operating costs since the beginning of 2015.
"Therefore, for the pool to remain open to the public the trustees are forced to utilise the reserve fund for operating costs and will have to continue fundraising," Mr Martin said.
The health board repainted the changing rooms and pool-side floors during the Christmas holiday, he said. At its peak, the fundraising tally was $1.2million, of which $1million was for the upgrade, and $200,000 for running costs.
The pool upgrade was supposed to happen a year ago this month. It was halted at short notice by government officials who wanted to keep the options as open as possible for the rebuild. It was unclear why the problem was not signalled earlier, given the redevelopment had at that time been in the offing for a significant length of time.
The pool is housed in the Fraser building, and that block is expected to be carefully considered for the rebuild. The outcome might depend on what the ministry decides to do with the main ward block of the hospital.