Whangārei's Forum North redevelopment will 'revolutionise' Northlanders' theatre experiences

From left: Professor Doug Sutton - Te Pūkenga Northland representative, WDC councillor Phil Halse, Forum North Trust chairman Lachie McLean and WDC councillor Tricia Cutforth. Photo / Tania Whyte

Forum North's new life as a cultural and education precinct will revolutionise Northlanders' theatre experiences, says a backer of the redevelopment.

Forum North Trust chairman Lachie McLean's comments come in the wake of a new formal charter between his group, Te Pūkenga/NorthTec and Whangārei District Council (WDC) aimed at the groups working together on redeveloping the 40-year-old Whangārei city landmark.

McLean, who directed the Sound of Music, the first musical at Forum North after the building opened, said Whangārei had been waiting 40 years for the new $45m lyric theatre his trust was backing for the site. WDC in December also formally reinstated its support for this theatre.

He said the 850-seat lyric theatre, to add to the Capitaine Bougainville Theatre and Exhibition Hall, which would remain, would bring huge new opportunities.

WDC general manager corporate Alan Adcock said Te Pūkenga, the recently formed organisation overseeing New Zealand's tertiary/vocational education sector, was exploring the relocation of NorthTec from its Raumanga campus.

It had indicated it was interested in using the new lyric theatre as part of its tertiary curriculum and was fully supportive of the facility, Adcock said.

"NorthTec wishes to explore the possibility of building a new educational facility on the (Forum North) site and potentially sharing it with other providers," he said.

"It recognises the merits of Forum North as a site for some of its activities given its proximity to public transport parking, the Kamo shared path/cycleway, the University of Auckland campus and the Whangārei central library."

Te Pūkenga chief executive Stephen Town said work was being done on shifting some of NorthTec's tertiary education to Forum North.

"Exploratory work and conversations are now underway to consider the feasibility of relocating some NorthTec activity to the Whangarei town centre. We fully support those exploratory discussions and engagement with key partners."

He said Te Pūkenga had been assessing how well its infrastructure was faring.

"Te Pūkenga has been assessing the condition of the broader network's buildings and facilities and those at NorthTec have been identified as being in need of significant investment over the next decade, " Town said.

WDC formally agreed to the charter at its February 24 meeting.

Adcock said a more formal memorandum of understanding could follow.

The council's new $55 million civic centre in Rust Ave is due to open at the end of 2022, with WDC's hundreds of staff moving from Forum North to the new facility.

Adcock said this meant the council chambers, administration and customer services areas at Forum North would no longer be needed.

"Once the new Civic Centre is completed … a large portion of the current Forum North service facilities will become vacant. Other areas, such as the exhibition hall, theatre and conference suites … will still operate," Adcock said.

WDC councillors Tricia Cutforth and Phil Halse are working on the Forum North redevelopment plans.

Work on the project is at an investigation stage. The council said in December it had $10 million budgeted for Forum North improvements between 2025 and 2029. It also had $6.3 million lyric theatre seed funding between 2027 and 2031.

Cutforth said the Forum North redevelopment could be Whangārei's next major project.

The new lyric theatre will mean major Forum North Trust fundraising for that part of the redevelopment.

"It is understood that the Forum North Trust 2013 is willing to take an active role in fund-raising but does not want to be directly involved in the construction and operation of the facility," Adcock said.

Forum North was significantly funded by major community fundraising and was opened in 1982 as Whangārei's main theatre and arts centre after structural concerns saw the city's Old Town Hall demolished.

Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai said in December the new precinct around Forum North would create greater synergy between performing arts, cultural activities and local business and frame the southeastern side of the city.

The lyric theatre and other key existing facilities, such as the central library, would be integrated into the new precinct.