More space for Parksyde activities

The Parksyde Community Centre trust chairman Peter Fitchett (L) and Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust chairman Grahame Hall celebrate the opening of the centre's new meeting room. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Parksyde Community Centre has officially opened its new meeting room which will help cater to the growing elderly population in Rotorua.

An unused storage area has been converted to meet the centre's demand. The facility was made possible with funds from the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, Bay Trust, First Sovereign Trust, Southern Trust and the Rotorua Women's Club.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay and Mayor Steve Chadwick were among the many people who gathered to mark the opening yesterday.

Parksyde manager David Monty said the centre was established 12 years ago as a centre of activity for the 55-plus age group.

"In the last three years our patronage numbers have increased and we have simply ran out of space," he said.

"The elderly community in Rotorua is expected to rise by 34 per cent in the next 10 years, that is a New Zealand statistic. Parksyde is being proactive in meeting the current and expected need."

Mr Monty said the centre was finding a balance between using the room for patrons' activities and commercial use, in a bid to be self-sustainable.

The room can also host conferences with a commercial PA system and on-site catering facilities.

Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust chairman Grahame Hall said the trust provided $100,000 towards the room's development.

"In 2000 this became a Rotorua Trust Millennium Project and we made sure it had some continuity with tremendous success. This centre is used every single day," Mr Hall said.

"This used to be a storage area and has been redeveloped into more useable space."

Parksyde was designed as a community entertainment centre for the elderly.

Run without a bar or gaming facilities, it operates as an event centre, including a dining room, library and activities room as well as the meeting room.