Hāwera library and visitor centre to close ahead of new $15.5 million building opening

The Hāwera LibraryPlus will close on November 7 to move to its new location at Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga.

Hāwera’s library and visitor centre will close as its shifts into its new $15.5 million building, Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga.

The LibraryPlus will close on November 7.

South Taranaki District Council arts and culture manager Cath Sheard encouraged people to stock up on library books.

“As well as ensuring you’ve got enough to last you over the two weeks the LibraryPlus will be closed, it will also help us because we’ll have less books to shift.”

The i-Site visitor centre – including the AA service centre – will close on November 20.

Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga is a part of the South Taranaki District Council’s Hāwera town centre revitalisation strategy.

An artist's impression of the new Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga building in Hāwera. Image / Warren and Mahoney

The centre will include a library, art gallery, i-Site visitor centre, café, and public toilets.

Beth McKenzie and Helen and Phil D’Ath will run a new cafe called The Gathering which will utilise local producers.

Hamilton-based company Livingstone Building has been in charge of the construction of Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga.

The new centre is estimated to have cost $15.5 million, with plans and funding established back in 2020, including $3m in “shovel-ready” funding from the previous Government and $2.8 million from the TSB Community Trust.

The library and the visitor centre – on the corner of High and Regent streets – is expected to open on November 25 at 1pm.