The likelihood of Oamaru's 133-year-old courthouse reopening within the year appears to be low.
Waitaki District Council chief executive Michael Ross confirmed in an email this week the council - which took possession of the building on July 1 - had not yet obtained estimates for the earthquake-strengthening work required for the 1883 limestone courthouse, which closed in November 2011.
In an interview with the Otago Daily Times late last month, he said the council had been ``probably overly optimistic in our expectations''.
``There's such a backlog on it [earthquake-strengthening] right across the country, and we got caught up in that,'' Mr Ross said on August 24.
``We have yet to receive the reports,'' he wrote on Monday.
In March, when the Ministry of Justice announced a deal had been struck with the council, and the courthouse would reopen, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he hoped the 133-year-old courthouse would again serve as the Oamaru District Court in as little as nine months.
The estimated costs associated with the earthquake-strengthening for Oamaru's Lower Thames St landmark building have varied significantly.
An independent report commissioned by Oamaru lawyer Bill Dean put the cost of strengthening to a new-building standard close to $350,000.
However, before the ministry's announcement the courthouse would reopen, its estimates for the cost of strengthening work were said to put reopening ``out of reach''. An initial estimate of up to $6million was later reduced to $2million.
But this month, the ministry's initial estimates for work on Dunedin's 114-year-old courthouse proved to be low.
The ministry and Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams had previously said the work on Dunedin's courthouse was expected to cost more than $15million, but the ODT reported on September 10 the ministry's consent application valued the work $3million dearer at, $18.57million.
Yesterday, Mr Ross said the increased costs for Dunedin's courthouse did not worry him.
In August, he said the minimum 10-year-lease with the ministry for court services, which will be based on the costs to upgrade the building and is expected to cover the council's internal loan for the work, was ``pretty much all agreed to''.
