The Ashburton Art Gallery & Heritage Centre will be the focus of internal and external repairs over coming weeks and months, as the Council begins a programme to remedy building defects identified through an independent assessment.

The Council discovered intermittent water leak issues in the buildin​g during extreme weather conditions after the building became fully occupied. The Council also found the air conditioning system was not working to its expectations.

The first work to be undertaken will be painting and sealing the southern exterior wall of the building as this was identified as in most need for treatment, with other walls being painted and sealed where necessary. The three upstairs bay windows facing State Highway 1 will also be waterproofed.

Other repairs include inspecting and repairing the roof membrane, installing new heating and ventilation equipment, including the installation of buffer tanks.

Chief Executive Hamish Riach says the Council is pleased to begin the repair work, which has been budgeted for in the 2019/20 Annual Plan.

"Our first priority is completing the painting and roof membrane repairs before winter, then moving onto the work needed inside the building.

"It's important that we get this required work underway sooner rather than later, as we know the Art Gallery & Heritage Centre is an important facility to our community."

The Council has taken additional steps to ensure the protection of the Art Gallery and Museum assets while work has been waiting to begin. This has included regular monitoring of temperatures and moisture levels and installing a temporary dehumidifier system where needed to maintain appropriate levels of climate control.

The maintenance work is not expected to affect the centre's opening hours.​