The plan is to put the archive in Richmond after a previous plan to build a $15m archive in central Nelson was scrapped due to cost increases and funding issues. Photo: Supplied / Nelson Provincial Museum
Nelson Museum staff and supporters have shed tears at a city council meeting after elected members again voted to spend $3 million on a new archive, research and collections building.
Applause rang out following the decision, with Nelson Provincial Museum chief executive Lucinda Jimson describing her immense relief at the vote to forge ahead with the Richmond plan.
"Many of us have been working on this for 10 years, so it is really overwhelming. It's been so much work by so many people, by the trustees, by the staff, with our iwi partners to get this over the line," she said.
Planning for a new archive has been underway for the last decade because the current storage building at Isel Park is not fit for purpose. The building's roof leaks and it is too small to house the museum's $20 million collection.
A previous plan to build a $15m multi-storey archive in central Nelson was scrapped because of cost increases and funding pressures, with Tasman Bays Heritage Trust planning to build a cheaper archive in Richmond for $9.8m.
Tasman Bays Heritage Trust chair Venus Guy said it had faced many challenges since presenting the new proposal to Nelson City Council nine months ago and Thursday's decision was a relief.
"Now we can move forward and I think it's a proud moment for our Nelsonians and to say that future generations will be proud of us," she said.
Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council are 50 percent shareholders in the museum and had each committed $3m towards a new archive.
The funding was in question after Nelson City Council chose to seek feedback on its $3.04m contribution, given the change in cost and location. It received 1305 submissions, 85 percent of which supported the new Richmond building.
Tasman mayor Tim King has previously said the district council plans to commit $3.11m to the project.
Most presenters in the meeting's public forum were supportive of the project, with the exception of Nelson lawyer John Fitchett who said there were alternative options in central Nelson that had not been considered.
"The building cost in west Richmond is exorbitant in my opinion for the type and size of the proposed facility and the whole project is far too rushed," he said.
Fitchett said the trust was "absolutely fixated" on the $10m project, "come hell or high water". He believed there was suitable property available in Nelson and in the last week had initiated the purchase of a two-storey commercial property on Haven Road, currently a furniture store, for $4.5m that he wanted to become the archive.
"I don't seek any recompense or payment, it's simply an attempt to assist my local council in saving some money, to meet the theory from 2018 of keeping the facility in the centre of Nelson, to preserve the museum's archive and ancillary objects at a reasonable cost, and ensuring that more projects do not relocate to Richmond," he said.
Fitchett urged the council and museum trustees to take over the purchase of the property and said they had almost three weeks to do due diligence or to walk away.
Former mayors Rachel Reese and Paul Matheson and former deputy mayors Gail Colllingwood and Judene Edgar spoke in support of the Richmond archive.
"The need for this project is well established, the Isel Park facility and location is unfit for the purpose, the trust has worked hard and acted responsibly, and I would say with absolute integrity as the circumstances changed and Nelson City Council has allocated funds for this project through successive terms of council," Reese said.
Bett Collection trustee Jeremy Glasgow said alongside artefacts, the trust had pledged about $150,000 to the archive project once it was consented and underway.
Started by Dr Francis Arnot Bett, the collection is made up of materials relating to the early years of Nelson's settlement including diaries, newspapers, maps, plans, paintings and photographs and is now a core asset in the museum's library and archives.
"This collection is at risk at the moment, and the sooner it is put into a safe facility the better," Glasgow said.
Mayor Nick Smith has been vocal in his opposition to the new Richmond building, instead saying that the Isel Park archive should be refurbished.
He was concerned it was not the most cost-effective option and believed any decision on funding should not be made ahead of October's local body elections.
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