I am now firmly of the view that the new Civic Theatre should be built immediately to the west of the Combined Clubs Complex and most of my councillors also hold this view.
It is the only option which makes sense.
The Combined Clubs representatives discussed with me the alternative proposal of a land-swap, which would have seen the Council exchange the current Council-owned clubs car park area with the old Marlborough Club building on the east side of the new Clubs complex.
I put this concept forward as something worth exploring because I believed that we should look at all options before decisions were reached. I suggested this because the swap would have given the Clubs control of the area currently used for car parking but which a future Council could conceivably use for another purpose.
However the Combined Clubs turned down the landswap proposal.
The Combined Clubs requested that kitchen and function facilities for the Clubs be incorporated within the new theatre. That was not a financially realistic possibility. It would have simply added another tier of costs to the project for Marlborough ratepayers. It would also have restricted the Civic Theatre Trust's ability to raise sponsorship and limited its ability to use the theatre facilities to generate its own income stream.
It is critical that we select the best site for this important community facility.
The current parking space to the west of the Combined Clubs building offers us the opportunity to build a substantial theatre with the capacity to meet our needs for the century to come.
Compromise is required from all sides and I'm pleased that the Civic Theatre Trust has offered some concessions to meet concerns raised by the Combined Clubs Executive Committee, including moving the theatre auditorium sufficiently to create a 10-metre gap between the buildings and moving the theatre fly tower to eliminate any light and shadow issues for the Clubs building.
The eastern site was also a compromise option but, even if had proved acceptable to the Clubs, settling on this site would have added substantially to the overall cost of the project. The shape of the site, and the need for loading areas servicing both the theatre and the Clubs Complex, would have required a major re-design of the new theatre. I doubt that extra cost could be justified.
Building the new theatre to the west of the Marlborough Convention Centre, which occupies the ground floor of the Combined Clubs Complex, will directly benefit the Convention Centre. The presence of the theatre raises the capacity of the Convention Centre to host larger events. Already the Convention Centre has generated more bookings than predicted. It brings a direct economic benefit to the town and, in the interests of job creation and retail and hospitality spending, we stand to gain more from greater conference capacity.
By the time a new theatre is built, a new Council-owned car parking building will be operating on the site of the present Alfred Street car park, increasing car parking in the area by more than 300 spaces.
The possibility of using Blenheim School is not realistic as the site is Crown land and subject to iwi claims as part of the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement process, a process which may take years to resolve and, ultimately, a commercial rent is likely to be sought for any development of that land.
We have reached the stage where I think most people understand that we need a site that will house Marlborough's theatre for the long term - and in the most cost-effective way. We have such a site, we have a design and there is a need to make some progress on this project. I am pleased that we have had such a wide-ranging public debate as I think it has underlined the logic of the decision that has been reached.
Now it is time to work together to bring Marlborough the theatre it deserves.
ALISTAIR SOWMAN
MAYOR
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