Those staff are currently spread across four locations:

• Regional House on Victoria Ave, where council meetings are held and a public counter is available for customer services;
• an office space on Queen St;
• an office space at Central Energy Trust Arena; and
• Horizons' Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) office in Te Ao Nui on Victoria Ave, which doubles as the region's Emergency Coordination Centre during large-scale CDEM events.

While we own Regional House and Te Ao Nui, we lease the office spaces at Queen St and Central Energy Trust Arena. The leases on these locations are due to expire in 2026 and 2028, respectively. We have been investigating options for a medium-term accomodation needs for all Palmerston North-based staff.

A peer-reviewed seismic assessment completed in 2024 found Regional House was earthquake prone. The building, built in 1990, is rates as achieving 14% of New Building Standards (NBS). For context, a building below 34% of NBS is considered earthquake prone.

Investigations found no existing buildings in Papaioea suitable, to either lease or purchase, to provide medium-term accomodation for all Palmerston North-based staff.

Council voted at the end of 2024 to move staff out of Regional House within five years and relocate them into a new building on land on the corner of Victoria Ave and Grey St, Palmerston North. The land has already been purchased with the intention of constructing a new office for Palmerston North-based staff.

While we are not consulting on this issue as part of our Long-term Plan amendment or Annual Plan, we are highlighting it as part of the Annual Plan process as it will have an impact on our finances in the future. The exact impact is not yet known, as there are multiple factors which could impact this, including how exactly we fund the build, the size and style of building, and what happens to Regional House afterwards. The amount of money involved means we will consult on this in the future. You can also give you opinion on this via the submission form.