Invercargill City Council is calling on the community to have their say on the final budget for Southland’s new museum.

Submissions are now open for the Te Unua Museum of Southland Consultation, Funding the Vision, inviting the community to choose from four options on how to address a budget shortfall for the Council’s project to build a new regional museum, which is set to open in late 2026.

Options range from making specific cost-saving changes, such as delaying the car park and forgoing Green Star Accreditation, to maintaining the final design and plans, which would increase the budget for both the building and the museum experience.

Councillor Grant Dermody said costs had risen across the board and the museum project wasn’t exempt.

“The Te Unua governance group and project teams have worked really hard to limit the cost increases on this important community project but we are seeing this around the country, including locally the Hawthorndale Care Village project, that other big projects are having similar challenges.”

He emphasised the importance of community input.

“We want to hear from the community about what level of funds they believe should be invested in the museum experience, car parking and green star accreditation,” Dermody said.

“This decision is critical to ensuring we create a museum that reflects the values and priorities of Southlanders while determining the overall spend of this significant project.”

In July this year, the museum project team delivered the final layout and cost estimations for the new museum building and experience.

“While the designs promise an impressive and modern facility celebrating the story of Southland, the plans have exceeded the original budget,” Invercargill City Council Group Manager Infrastructure Erin Moogan said.

“This is due to a combination of factors including the additional car park and Green Star Accreditation being added to the scope following stakeholder feedback, as well as higher than expected building costs.

“We also have a greater understanding now of how to deliver an immersive and interactive museum experience that brings people back again and again.

“To ensure the project meets the original brief, vision and mission, a budget increase of $13 million would be required, but Councillors and staff have identified some areas they believe the project scope can be altered to take some pressure off the budget.”

The four identified options are now open for public consultation.

One option was to move ahead with the full scope of design, which would see the full project cost come in at approximately $87 million, including Te Pātaka Taoka Southern Regional Collections Facility and Te Moutere – Tuatara Island, which both opened this year as part of the project. This option would see a $13 million increase in cost from the original budget.

A second option was to remove the Green Star Accreditation, bringing the cost down to $86.2 million.

The third option, which is the Council’s preferred option, would delay the construction of a 71-space car park and remove the Green Star Accreditation.

“We expect this option to come in at approximately $84.7 million, saving $2.4 million and representing a $10.6 million increase to the budget,” Moogan said.

The final option involved reducing the ratio of digital and static experiences, which could provide an additional cost saving of $1.8 million to $3.8 million.

“We need the community’s input on these options to determine the best path forward.”

Of the current total Project 1225 budget of $74.1 million, $9.4 million has been spent on Te Pātaka Taoka Southern Regional Facility, $734,000 on Te Moutere – Tuatara Island, and $63.9 million is set aside for the museum.

The $74.1 million budget is funded by a $57.1 million investment from Council, $10.4 million in committed external funding, and $6.6 million of external funding still to be secured, which will be underwritten by the Council in case it is not secured.

The public consultation period will last for one month, during which time work on the museum project will continue, including developing the experience content, building consent applications, and preparations for laying the building foundations.

Community members are encouraged to submit their feedback via the Council’s Let’s Talk page before the consultation closes at 5pm on 23 September 2024.

Detailed information on each of the options, including budget figures, can also be found here. After consultation closes, a hearing will take place on 8 October for public verbal submissions. Council will deliberate and make a decision on 22 October.