Working party to explore plan for Municipal Buildings

Members of the working party group in the Municipal Buildings.

Fifteen passionate people are putting their heads together to explore, review and help develop a plan for the future of the Municipal Buildings in Hastings.

The Hawke's Bay Opera House and Arts Precinct Working Group will be providing feedback to the Hastings District Council Opera House Subcommittee about the redevelopment which will have an impact on and connection to arts and culture in Hastings.

HDC group manager of community programmes and facilities Alison Bank welcomed members of the group to a meet and greet session last week.

She said the group was hand-picked after reviewing all submissions to council surrounding the Hawke's Bay Opera house.

The Heritage 1 listed building has been closed since early 2014, after engineering investigations and subsequent peer reviews confirmed that parts were at risk of collapse in an earthquake.

After a special consultative process last year, with more than 3000 submissions submitted to council and two days of public discussion, Hastings councillors voted to strengthen the building.

Mayor Lawrence Yule said at the time that the public had "spoken loudly and clearly" in favour of retaining the 100-year-old heritage building.

Strengthening of the theatre has begun and now this working party will consult over the next five months on what will happen to the Municipal Buildings which include the ground floor area that previously housed Hutchinson's Furnishings, and the first floor which incorporates the former council offices and ballroom.

They will develop, implement and support community engagement and fundraising activities, and provide a key connection to the arts community in Hastings and wider Hawke's Bay.

The working party was taken on a tour of the building and I tagged along.

The space is huge and there are so many possibilities - the air was abuzz with excitement as members of the group walked through the area. You could almost see their minds ticking over with ideas.

Ms Bank said she selected the members of the group based on their passion, connection to the building and ability to think strategically.

"These people have proven track records and they have the community's interest at heart. It's not about them it's about what the community want."

She told the group it was up to them to "come back and tell us what it is going to look like".

"We are open to all ideas," she said.

The group have until August to come up with a plan.

Group members:
Anna Pierard
Charles Ropitini
Daniel Betty
Genevieve Beech
Lily Frederikse
Henry Heke
Jacob Scott
Glen Pickering
Ken Keys
Katherine Winitana (youth rep)
Michal Mackay
Pitsch Leiser (chair)
Sophie Wallace
Te Rangi Huata
Toni MacKinnon (HDC)