The Invercargill City Council has withdrawn a report considering the future of several run-down inner-city buildings from this afternoon's Infrastructural Services committee meeting agenda, so that more information can gathered.

The withdrawn report titled 'Future of Esk Street West Buildings' recommended the council spend upwards of $4 million to partially demolish and manage several run-down buildings on Esk St, to comply with its insurer's policies. 

However, the report was withdrawn an hour before today's meeting and is now likely to be considered in December, provided the information needed is available at that time.

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The ICC owns all the five buildings at 6-18 Esk Street West, four of which are recognised as having heritage values.

However, the buildings are empty, in various stages of decay, and are being entered and slept in by unauthorised people. 

In the retracted report, ICC property manager Paul Horner said the council's insurers were "demanding" steps be taken to stop people from sleeping in the buildings.

These included installing intruder and fire alarms, having nightly security patrols and weekly inspections.

It was reported to the ICC in April this year that the buildings were in a poor condition and were being broken into.

He gave councillors four potential options for managing the buildings. They ranged from taking no action, two different ways of demolishing some of the buildings and retaining some of the heritage value, and finally, the demolition of all of the buildings.

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He had recommended that councillors adopt option 3 - "partial demolition and retention of buildings with heritage status and the management of the buildings at an estimated cost of $4 million over five years with ongoing operational costs of $50,000 per annum."

The recommendation included giving delegated authority to the council chief executive to enter into contracts for the work to be done.

Option 3 involved the demolition of 6 Esk Street West and the rear of 8 Esk Street West, with the retention of the heritage buildings at the front of No 8 and Nos 10, 12-16 and 18 Esk Street West. 

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Mr Horner said this would have retained the heritage fabric of the buildings until the council decides on the future use for the site and a resource consent process can be worked through. 

"This allows for a range of future outcomes such as possible adaptive re-use of the heritage buildings to new purposes or adaption into the possible future Arts and Creativity Invercargill (ACI). [Option 3] also provides the least consenting risks and reduces the immediate problems of management and insurance of the buildings," he said.

Mr Horner said the use of funds for demolition of the Esk St West buildings would also have an effect on the funds available for Strategic Projects. 

The ICC has $1.2 million budgeted for the demolition of the buildings and if option 3 would have been chosen, it would have required an additional $2.7 million in approximately 2021-2023.

The properties were purchased between November 2011 and February 2012 for $2,354,000, and they have a current total capital valuation of $1,014,000 and land valuation of $539,000. The total land area is 1,989m2.