The Central Otago District Council is baulking at buying more property for the Cromwell town centre project and will make a decision later this month about who will oversee the project.
The council said in a release yesterday it had approved the next stages of detailed design for the Cromwell town centre project.
In the publicly excluded part of a council meeting last month, the council met to discuss whether to progress with further analysis and development of preferred options for the project to be consulted on in the 2025-34 long-term plan (LTP).
It was agreed a detailed breakdown and further investigation of the costs would be required to enable the council to make a decision on the preferred options, to be consulted on in the LTP, and that this would be discussed at the council meeting on May 29.
Funding of $665,000 for further detailed investigation was in the 2023-24 budget and is to be carried forward for the 2024-25 annual plan, which is out for public consultation.
It was also agreed that a report on where the governance oversight sat — the council or community board — should also go to the meeting later this month.
The Cromwell town centre project is part of the Cromwell master plan which began in 2018, which approved the process, funding and procurement approach for the project.
Four workstreams were identified: the spatial framework, the Cromwell Memorial Hall — now under way — the town centre and the civic facilities.
Extensive consultation was held on the master plan and funding included in the 2021-31 LTP.
However, as a result of the current economic climate, and the cost increase in building the town hall, the council decided to consult the community on the town centre through the upcoming 2025-34 LTP.
In a separate resolution, the council also decided that negotiations for property purchases for the Cromwell town centre project should cease until the various options for the town centre were worked through and approved by the council and that those options would form part of the LTP.
