A grant from central government will fund the renovation of four Queenstown Lakes district community venues and employ upwards of 80 people over several months.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) received $1.2M from the government’s Provincial Development Unit (PDU) and its use was finalised at a council meeting in September.

Work is now underway at the Lake Wānaka Centre, Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, Lake Hayes Pavilion, and Queenstown Memorial Centre.

The Lake Wānaka Centre upgrades will include painting the exterior walls and roof, as well as the interior ceilings and walls, and a water boiler will be replaced.

Elsewhere, work would include replacing flooring and windows, and upgrading heating and lighting systems.

All painting work will be colour-matched so there won’t be any drastic changes to the appearances of any of the facilities.

The majority of the work has been identified as necessary through a routine, independent condition assessment of council facilities, the QLDC said. 

While the work was already part of the council's future activity programme, changes to workflow caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that funding for the work could have been deferred to the next Long Term Plan.

QLDC chief executive Mike Theelen said the PDU grant confirmed the work could be completed in this financial year and would provide a much needed boost to employment.

“COVID-19 continues to have a severe impact on jobs across the district so the timing of this grant is very welcome,” Mike said.

“Not only is it supporting our investment in council venues widely used by our local community and visitors to the district, it is also providing employment to a large number of people.”

The grant awarded to QLDC is part of a $12.4m total package from the PDU targeted at the renovation of town halls, war memorials and other community landmarks across New Zealand.

Mike said he expects the current works to be largely completed by the end of January 2021.

PHOTO: Wanaka App