A project to redevelop the Forrester Art Gallery, the Oamaru library and archives, and put up a new building for the North Otago Museum has been delayed until two of the buildings can be confirmed as being up to earthquake safety standards.
Waitaki District Council community services manager Thunes Cloete said the project could not be taken any further until the buildings were assessed for quake risk.
''We have now put in a request for an earthquake assessment, but while we are waiting for that, we will be reigniting this project.
''It's basically still a holding pattern, but there has been a lot of work done behind the scenes, of course.''
Mr Cloete said he estimated it could take another three to six months before an assessment was done.
Although the Forrester Art Gallery was not considered to be ''earthquake prone'', the museum archive and the Oamaru Library were in need of assessment, he said.
''This is just part of the process. It's just taking long.
''We would have liked to have been further along, but with the assessment that we need, you can't hurry things up.''
Once the earthquake assessment was conducted, the project would be put before the council for discussion, he said.
The cost of a new museum building and to redevelop the gallery was estimated at $6 million, but no cost had been estimated for the redevelopment of the library archive.
Mr Cloete added he could not give a confirmation of the project costs until an earthquake assessment had been completed.
Plans to upgrade facilities at the North Otago Museum, Forrester Art Gallery and Oamaru Library were first proposed in the Waitaki District Council 2009-19 long-term plan, but an alternative was included in last year's draft long-term plan following a review of the original project.
