Christchurch Council advances plans for Court Theatre 

Plans to locate the Court Theatre within the centre of Christchurch have advanced with Christchurch City Council agreeing to move to the concept design stage. 

Councillors also asked staff to formalise the details of a draft commercial agreement, which sets out how the Council and The Court will work together to develop a new Court Theatre within the Performing Arts Precinct. Work will continue to finalise a draft lease agreement between the Council and The Court.

Council General Manager Citizens and Community, Brent Smith says this is a positive and exciting milestone for the city, stating "the Council and The Court have been working closely together for some time now and we are committed to making this project work. We can now cement the agreement to proceed with a home for The Court in the central city, and to get on with the design of the building.”

Court Theatre Chief Executive Barbara George added “so many people from The Court Theatre family have been eagerly awaiting this milestone in our partnership with the Council. We look forward to our continued negotiations.”

Options for the provision of off-street parking in, or near, the Performing Arts Precinct to service the Precinct and northern parts of the city are also under investigation.

A request for proposal process, which is asking for interest from developers to build at least a 320-park carpark, is currently underway. 

The Court Theatre will be built in the central city block bounded by Armagh, Gloucester, Colombo and New Regent Streets.

The Council is committing $30 million towards the development of the Precinct while the Crown will provide the land through the terms of the global settlement agreement. The Court Theatre will fund the fit-out of the new facility.

In March 2019, the Council agreed to go ahead with the development of a new Court Theatre within the Precinct. This was based on a business case that looked at the inclusion of The Court Theatre in the Performing Arts Precinct.