Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown donned his chef’s apron and deputy mayor Liz McMillan cut the onions for a BBQ shout last week to mark progress on Ashburton’s new library and civic building, Te Pātaka o kā Tuhutuhi and Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka.

The roof of the main building is nearly complete and the last of the concrete pours will happen this month in the main building, smaller secondary building and Emergency Operations Centre.

Mayor Brown said the “roof shout” was a chance to celebrate the progress of the building and to thank over 70 workers on site.

“This project is still within the $56.75 million budget we have and that’s thanks to a good relationship between the main contractor Naylor Love Canterbury and Council. The completion date has been pushed out by six months but that has been mostly because of delays getting materials or labour caused by covid disruptions elsewhere in the world.

“It’s at an exciting stage and we thought it was timely to personally show our appreciation to everyone working on the building.”

Councillors Lynette Lovett, Diane Rawlinson, Leen Braam and Stuart Wilson helped prepare and cook patties and sausages bought from Netherby Meats, and the big bag of onions was grown and donated by the Webster family at Dorie.

The library and civic building will be under one roof in the new facility, which also incorporates Pioneer Hall, which has heritage status under the Ashburton District Plan. The hall has been stripped back and will be recreated using original features as part of the new children’s library.

The current library building on Havelock Street is considered an earthquake risk, and would need major repairs to comply with new National Building Standards.

Council’s aging administration building on Baring Square West is also no longer fit for purpose and needs major renovations and strengthening.