Tisbury Storage Facility Discussed at Council Meeting

The issue over whether the new Tisbury storage facility will be user pays was discussed by councillors at its first meeting this week.

Cr Ian Pottinger raised the question, but Mayor Nobby Clark said because it was a ‘regional’ facility and not just for Invercargill, then heritage funding would be coming from all of the councils, for collections outside the city.

CEO Clare Hadley also pointed out that the ‘Regional Heritage Rate’ had continued to be paid to Invercargill City while its museum was closed.

While the exact amount hadn’t been determined, the rate brought in by funding across the three districts was significantly more than ratepayers contribute (more than $1 million).

Cr Lesley Soper asked Cr Pottinger who else was he expecting could be charged a rental for the space?

“Surely the people who own or manage the collections should be expected to pay something?” he replied.

Construction of the 1650 sqm facility started in December 2022 and marked the beginning of Project 1225.

Mayor Clark said there were other examples around the city of council-owned facilities that were not all 100% user-pays, such as Splash Palace.

Cr Nigel Skelt, who is leading the Project 1225 said it would be “very unwise” to worry about a rental on a collection owned by Southlanders.

But Cr Tom Campbell backed Pottinger and said it was a reasonable question to ask about rental, and asked how other parts of Southland are going to share the cost?

“If there are collections in other areas and they are going to save on rental…how overall will the people of Southland pay for this?”

Cr Darren Ludlow said the Gore and Southland councils have their own storage facilities, but he understood they would only use Tisbury for any additional space they required.

Nigel concluded that it was certainly not the intention of the Invercargill City Council to fund the entire museum project – or bear the sole financial responsibility.