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Cultural heart to be unveiled

Concepts for the future of the Hawke’s Bay Opera House, the Municipal Buildings and Civic Square, will get their first public airing in six weeks’ time.

The concepts represent the culmination of five months of work by the Independent Working Party (IWP).

“An independent group was asked to carry out this project to ensure it was looked at as broadly as possible; we really wanted to open it up to blue-sky thinking,” said Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule.

“A great deal of thought went into who would be on the panel, and we have a wide range of people with impressive skills who have been putting their heads together to come up with ideas to take the city forward,” Mr Yule said.

“Their brief was not just to look at the opera house in isolation, but to look holistically at all three Hastings landmarks: the opera house, Municipal Buildings and Civic Square and identify, if possible, an integrated solution that provides the best possible outcome for our community, whilst delivering the best possible value for money against the $20 million Council has budgeted for the overall project”

The IWP, led by consultant engineer Richard Kirby, is made up of Peter Snelling (who has experience in property management), Chris O’Reilly (marketing and facility operation), Genevieve Beech (arts, heritage, marketing and branding), Ngahiwi Tomoana (arts culture and heritage), Gary McCalmont (property development), and Andy Coltart (architecture and design).

IWP member Genevieve Beech said “The project is a great opportunity to consider how the opera house, Municipal Buildings and Civic Square can positively contribute to the cultural and community life of the district, as well as helping provide a strong boost to the local economy. 

“We have had some very lively discussions around the table on how best to use these facilities to grow community connectivity, pride and employment opportunities. 

“I think we have come up with some fantastic, robust, future-focused ideas. We are excited to finally be able to share them and look forward to getting the views and input of residents and other stakeholders”  

The Independent Working Party (IWP) will be ready to put their ideas to Hastings District Council at its December public meeting.

In the meantime the IWP is presenting its draft proposal to small groups of people most likely to use the facilities or be able to contribute towards them. Feedback from those meetings will be considered and the proposal firmed up before it is made public. A formal consultation phase conducted by Hastings District Council is planned for February.

 Mr Kirby said the group had worked hard to “marry up the three prongs: the opera house, the Municipal Buildings and Civic Square into an integrated central city ‘culturemercial’ precinct”.

“It has been a really exciting project to work on and the IWP has been very aware of the importance and passion Hastings people have for the opera house in particular.

“And it’s fair to say there has been quite a bit of passion around this table as well and that fairly reflects the passion these people, all of whom are Hawke’s Bay residents, have for their city.”

It had been hoped that options would be available in mid-August, however the process had taken longer than hoped. Given the council’s budget of $20 million for the project, the importance of the opera house, and that whatever is decided will be with the district for another 100 years at least, it “is better to make right decisions, rather than fast decisions”, said Mr Yule.

“While the closure of the opera house has been very unfortunate and upsetting, it has provided us with the option to re-think the connectivity within the central city, and work out just how we can make it the cultural heart of our city. It is important that people understand that the $20 million budget allocation is available to support all the key projects that help us achieve a truly ‘joined up’ city centre solution and is not just focused on the opera house.  

“When we come to the public consultation in February, we hope everyone will take time to investigate the options and have their say.”

The decision to close the opera house was made based on three engineering reports that confirmed the building’s walls would be very unsafe in a sizeable earthquake.

“While some have suggested we should just have some kind of waiver at the front door saying ‘enter at your own risk’, we don’t think it is right to put potentially 900 people’s lives at risk if an earthquake occurs in the opera house when it is full. That is not a situation any council would contemplate,” said Mr Yule.

There has been all sorts of reporting saying that the chances of being killed in an earthquake in the opera house are tiny given the number of times you are likely to go there – however the chances of being killed in the opera house if there is an earthquake while you are in there are very much greater. And that’s what council has to look at.”

4 October 2017

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