Worse-than-expected ground conditions has forced the Sewlyn District Council into another redesign of a long-awaited library and community centre.
But the latest Whata Rau redesign was done without input from the Leeston community reference group which the district council set up to develop a concept design.
The redesigned community facility and library to be built on Leeston Park (below) is considerably different to what the CRG and council first presented in January.
The new 930sq m building is also smaller than the original 1089sq m concept design.
CRG chair Grant Miller said the group was left “baffled” by the new design and is seeking answers from the council about the lack of consultation.
“It is fair to say the community reference group is saddened and disappointed with the direction taken,” he said.
“What we handed over in collaboration with Selwyn District Council staff and signed off by them is completely at odds with what is being brought to the council now.”
The redesign was undertaken after the council decided in March to not reconsult the community on the concept design and to push ahead with a detailed design to keep the project moving.
Council head of commercial infrastructure and property Keith Beal said it had rechecked the ground conditions at the Leeston Domain site since March. As a result, the updated design had to be smaller, a different shape, and have piles instead of a slab base.
“We started with an assumption of a slab, but we soon found that because of water conditions and contamination, a preferable design would be a piled solution,” he told a council briefing last week.
“That means it informs the position of where some of the walls will go. It starts to influence the layout and space within the building.”
Council infrastructure and property executive director Tim Mason said the new concept is not a redesign. This latest phase develops the design presented by the community reference group, rather than a redesign,” he said.
Mayor Lydia Gliddon acknowledged the council was expected to keep the group updated but had not done so.
“I apologised in the meeting that we committed to giving (the CRG) quarterly updates on where we were at, and that timestamp was missed.”
Gliddon said the council could have done better and examined the ground conditions more closely before the first concept design was presented.
“The slab foundation was potentially going to be uncontestable, so we’ve had to change and pivot into what we are looking at.”
The council is set to make a decision on how to proceed with the $16m project later this month once detailed costings for the latest design were available.
Gliddon also requested council staff compare the cost of the newly designed facility to the original concept plan.