Ngātea Library and service centre to be rebuilt as $4.8m community hub

The Hauraki District Council building in Ngatea in 2021.

A decision has been made, at the Hauraki District Council Meeting on May 31, to reset the project budget for the rebuild of the Ngātea Service Centre and Library now called the Plains Community Hub to $4.8 million.

The budget includes $3,667,716 of unbudgeted expenditure and budgeted capital expenditure of $1,132,284 from 2022/23 to the 2023/24 financial year.

Provision was made in the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan (LTP) to upgrade the service centre and library located in Ngātea. An extensive engagement with the community took place in 2019/2020 to gauge their aspirations for the facility.

Hauraki District Council had opted for a completely new build rather than attempt to achieve modern library standards (LIANZA) and meet community needs with the old building.

The major renovation includes resolving the risk of liquefaction, earthquake strengthening, asbestos removal and meeting modern accessibility and fire safety standards.

A working party was set up to review the options of refurbishment or a rebuild of the existing council building. The decision by the council, in July 2021, was to build a new facility at the current location. This new build will replace the existing council building and will house a service centre, library and community spaces making it a true hub for the community.

“The high-level concept plan came back at a cost significantly higher than what had been budgeted for,” says Mayor Toby Adams.

“Construction costs have increased significantly after Covid and with inflation, and as a minimum, the Community Hub should be the same style and quality as what was built in Paeroa and Waihī and we believe with this budget we can achieve that.

“We want to thank the community and working group for all their time and feedback in ensuring we get the right elements in the design,” says Toby.

“We also acknowledge the timeline has taken longer than we had hoped, but it is important to get it right and we are really looking forward to this project being started. Today’s decision was an important one to make that happen.”