Ngāruawāhia Waipā Tavern site to house community hub to rejuvenate main street

The site of the former Waipā Tavern will soon be home to a community hub for Ngāruawāhia. Photo / Waikato District Council

Big plans to revitalise Ngāruawāhia’s town centre are under way after Waikato District Council bought the former site of the Waipā Tavern with the aim to develop it into a community hub.

The purchase means the council now has a block of 5225 square metres to develop, which also includes the existing Ngāruawāhia Library site.

Waikato District Mayor Jacqui Church says this is an exciting piece of news for the people of Ngāruawāhia and ties in with the council’s vision of liveable, thriving, connected communities.

“With considered site planning, this purchase presents a real opportunity for the council to be a conduit to the revitalisation of the Ngāruawāhia town centre, while also delivering on Long Term Plan commitments to provide the community with a new library and community hub.”

The tavern burned down last year and, following its demolition, the former owner decided to sell the site on the corner of Jesmond Street and Great South Road.

Ngāruawāhia’s current library is housed in a small, ageing building, and prior to the new land purchase, there was not enough room for expansion or redevelopment.

The council already allocated a project to deliver a new library or community hub in its Long Term Plan.

In addition to the library and community hub, there is an opportunity to further develop the rest of the site to enable the rejuvenation of the main street.

The council will now establish a project team to start concept planning for the site and to clarify the appropriate positioning of the library and community hub along with preferred land uses for the balance of the site.

The council staff will also engage with mana whenua and the wider community.