Raglan Old School Arts Centre receives funding boost to improve accessibility

Deron Sharma, Infrastructure Development Manager Community Growth at Waikato District Council, Rodger Gallagher Chairperson at Raglan Old School Arts Centre, and Susanne Giessen-Prinz. Photo / Waikato District Council

Raglan Old School Arts Centre has become more accessible thanks to a funding boost from Waikato District Council.

The council allocated $32,489 from its $7.88 million Better Off Funding to the project which saw an accessibility lift built and installed at the centre.

The project has been in the works since 2016, however, the contract for the lift was only signed in May 2023, with the final inspection being carried out three months ago.

Raglan Old School Arts Centre chairman Rodger Gallagher said the team had always planned to install a lift so the whole community could enjoy it, but they couldn’t complete the project all at once.

Apart from the Better Off Funding, the Raglan Community Arts Council also received grants from Trust Waikato and fundraised, with one local woman donating $10,000 towards the cost of the lift.

“Raglan is a very inclusive community, and that first donation is just one example of how passionate our people are,” Gallagher said.

Raglan Old School Arts Centre, run by Raglan Community Arts Council, provides a space for local creatives and artists to showcase their work.

Apart from helping the 300 members of the arts council, as well as 800 users of the arts centre access the whare tapere on the first floor of the centre, the lift will also be used to transport music equipment, chairs and food.

The Raglan Community Arts Council is committed to further improvements and has started fundraising for an accessibility toilet.

The Better Off funding programme was part of the previous government’s Three Waters Reform. It was meant to be an investment into the future of local government.

Waikato District Council secured a total of $7.88 million which were split across 20 diverse projects, including a car for the Te Kauwhata Community Transport Service and Whaingaroa Wharf Western Walkway.

Lisette Elisala is a journalism student at the Waikato Institute of Technology. She has joined the Waikato Herald team as an intern for the next few weeks.