A $235,000 upgrade of the Alexandra Memorial Theatre has been approved by the Vincent Community Board.
The board heard yesterday the work was needed to meet health and safety standards.
Concerns about the stage structure and equipment at the theatre had been raised by the Alexandra Musical Society - the main user of the theatre - earlier this year and an initial site inspection confirmed serious safety concerns.
An engineering assessment was done by Wanaka firm Batchelar McDougall Consulting Ltd and concluded remedial building work would cost about $164,000 and a basic stage rigging system about another $70,000.
It is proposed to split the funding for the project evenly between council and external sources and $117,500 of council funding will be included in year one of the draft 2018-28 long-term plan for the project.
An overspend of $17,430 has also been approved, to commission an engineer and a theatre specialist to progress the concept design of the theatre stage structure and equipment upgrade.
