“It’s not only for Dance Worx, it could be a great community hall and is a historic building that is part of our past,” Quaid said.
She plans to make a stand to save the hall.
“I do understand as a ratepayer that our money has to be spent wisely. But do we want the past of Ashburton to be obliterated?”
There are no other floors quite like Balmoral Hall in Ashburton, she said.
“It’s reputed to be a sprung floor and fabulous for dancing on.”
Visiting examiners had praised the floor, but Quaid said she was embarrassed by the state of the building around it.
The hall has an estimated $1.3m repair cost to bring it up to standard. The district council’s preferred option was to sell the building while creating an alternative studio space at the EA Networks Centre.
Quaid said she knew the hall needed work, but said this was due to the district council neglecting maintenance over the years.
The roof is falling in and users have to go to the district council office to collect tokens to run the heaters, some of which no longer work, she said.
If Balmoral Hall was retained and refurbished, it would likely see an increase in the hourly charge of $25 per hour, to one they could not afford, Quaid said.
If it ends up going up for sale, purchasing the venue would likely be out of reach, she said.
“We haven’t considered that, and we are just a small business.”
The potential of a studio space at EA Networks could also come with an expensive hourly rate, and it may not be of the same standard, Quaid said.
The Tinwald Hall was another alternative, but was already well used, she said.
As well as taking photographs, there was a plan to collect statements of support for a submission to the district council to retain the hall.
In its Long Term Plan, the district council is proposing to sell the hall and land as the costs to maintain and operate both sites is expensive, and the income received doesn’t currently cover the costs.
Its income was $11,445 in 2022/2023 year, whereas expenditure for the year was $44,733.
If ratepayers were to stump up and fund the repairs, they would also have to continue topping up the hall to subsidise the users.
A family photo event for Dance Worx past and present dancers will take place on April 5, at 5.30pm, at Balmoral Hall. Dance Worx will also be collecting statements of support for a Long Term Plan submission to retain the hall.
By Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter
- LDR is local body journalism cofunded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
