The Teviot Community Board asked the Central Otago District Council to approve an investigation into alternative locations for the rebuild of the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre after it was destroyed by fire on Waitangi Day this year.
A community board report said investigating alternative sites would mean a delay of about five months, but a meeting had been set for next month for the community to discuss whether it wanted to consider alternative options.
During the district council meeting this week a frustrated board chairman, Mark Jessop, said rebuilding the hall, which housed the town hall, cinema and a kitchen, was a chance to revitalise the town, but some residents were stuck in the past not wanting to change anything.
" . . . [Their attitude is] ‘let’s do it the way it was, the way it was designed in the 1870s, for the way the urban town was in the 1870s — let’s ignore any changes since then."’
If there were no alternative sites to consider, the community would stick with the status quo, Mr Jessop said.
"[It will be] ‘Let’s just put the same building in the same place.’
"It’s the only way they will get their emotional attachment resolved is by putting the same building in the same place . . . the town will look exactly the same in 20 years," he said.
Moving the hall away from its present Scotland St location would give the opportunity for "some nice urban renewal, which otherwise won’t happen".
But with just two weeks before the planned public meeting on December 11 there was not enough time to get information on alternatives out to the community — and that would hamper the meeting, he said.
"They’ll be shouting and yelling and screaming and not listening to anything you’ve got to say ... saying ‘I want it up in that place, in that time."’
Cr Martin McPherson suggested leaving the report on the table until after the meeting .
Deputy mayor Tracy Paterson said the council was hearing very loudly and very strongly from the residents of Roxburgh that they wanted to be heard on the matter.
"And I’m super conscious that if we don’t allow that process to happen, it’s going to end up being said we made a decision without allowing those people to be heard."
Teviot ward councillor Curtis Pannett, who is also deputy chairman of the community board and representative on the steering committee, said the December 11 meeting had two purposes.
"It’s for us to outline the process and the pathways for this rebuild.
"But more importantly, it’s just an hour there for [the community] to be heard, because that’s one of the criticisms so far, is that they don’t feel heard, and that’s fair.
"Waiting for concept designs and architects to engage with the community will be too long for them to be heard and we need to do something sooner rather than later.
"I think we will have more information to make a decision on, ultimately, spending rebuild money once we’ve had that meeting."
Hopefully, the meeting would bring some clarity.
"I think, before we spend money and take months of time and council resources to investigate alternative sites, I think we need a better steer on, is this what we want?" Cr Pannett said.
The council resolved to leave the paper on the table until after the public meeting.
