$4m plan for Carterton

19th October 2005

A $4 MILLION project has been unveiled in Carterton which would see the town boast a 300-seat brand new live theatre, an upgraded library, additional health rooms, a youth centre and much-needed community meeting rooms, plus the restoration of two heritage buildings ? all under one roof.

The man leading the charge is Ewan Hyde and he's hailed the community centre as one of Carterton's most ambitious projects ever.

Yesterday he presented the feasibility report to the Carterton district councillors and a few hours later repeated himself to the town's business community in a special presentation at the library.

Next weekend, all letterboxes in the Carterton district will get a brochure detailing the project.

Mr Hyde is Carterton district's chief librarian but it's in his role as chairman of the Community Facility Focus Group that he has announced the project.

"We're pushing all the boundaries here. People will have to think outside the square. It's not just about building a community centre ? it's about looking at different ways of doing things and providing services, such as the library.

Plans for a new all-encompassing community centre in the town have been under scrutiny since 2001 when the Focus Group was formed to come up with ideas.

A grant of $15,000 from the district council helped group members seek professional advice and the result has been a detailed report by Opus International consultants, a firm known for its expertise in the design of community facilities.

"The big challenge is now to sell it to the people" said Mr Hyde, who admits the $4 million price tag is challenge for Carterton's 3700 ratepayers.

"It's a big ask but the enthusiasm we've already encountered from the local community feeds our optimism."

He said that in the beginning it was all about creating community space. But with library use throughout New Zealand declining, it made sense to examine the issue.

"Being part of a multi-community complex is logical," Mr Hyde said.

The plan is to fund the centre by getting $1 million from the council, $1.5 million from central government and $1 million through charitable organisations, leaving the Carterton community the task of raising $500,000.

Taking into account the capital investment and the running costs of the centre, estimated at $450,000 a year, Mr Hyde says the overall project costs work out at just over $1 a week a ratepayer.

It is recommended the district council take on the management of the centre and a community advisory group be established. A co-ordinator would be employed to run the centre.

The plan involves an integration of several buildings on Holloway Street, including the St John hall and the district library, both acknowledged heritage buildings. These would be restored to their original facades.

The former Phoenix theatre building, condemned by council this year, would be demolished. In its place, a 300-seat auditorium and stage would be built, complete with storage areas and a rehearsal room. The main foyer area would have linkages into the existing library, which would be upgraded internally, and into the St John hall the other direction.

The St John building would house consulting rooms for health workers, lessening the pressure on the town's bulging medical centre.

A special feature is the inclusion of the four meetings room of varying sizes.

"There has been a serious lack of comfortable meeting space for years", said Mr Hyde, who told the council last night that the library was being increasingly used at nights for meeting space, which came with its own set of problems.

The other link into the centre is the existing scout hall behind the library. This would be developed into a scout and youth centre.

"Should the people of Carterton give the green light to the project, they will have one of the most progressive public buildings for a town of its size," Mr Hyde said.

"And, to make sure people don't think Carterton is too small for such an undertaking, I've got several towns who have built just what we're proposing". He cited comparable projects in Warkworth $6.3m (popn. 2800) Twizel $4.2m (popn 1500) and the Auckland suburb of New Lynn $4m (popn 4000).

A public meeting is to be held in Carterton's municipal hall next Wednesday night and public submissions are being called, closing on November 18.

District councillors made no comment after Mr Hyde's presentation yesterday afternoon. They plan to thrash out the proposal at next Wednesday's full council meeting at 4pm, ahead of the public meeting at 7.30pm.