Issue number two: The hall, the hall, the hall
I have written quite a lot about the Cromwell Memorial Hall over the last three years and it has been a political football kicked backwards and forwards for many years now. The previous CCB really thought that they had got the renovation project across the line. It has then been a truly contentious issue over this current term of the board with the overturning of the decision to renovate, earthquake safety reports causing concern and ongoing debate about what will happen next.
Let's be really clear that the plans to renovate are well and truly behind us - the board voted not to proceed and there is very unlikely to be any appetite for returning to the table to discuss the benefits of upgrading the existing facility. So what is happening instead? The hall certainly is still very much in the minds of our community and the issue was again highlighted in the annual residents survey.
The decision to shelve upgrade plans was made around the time of the inception of the Eye to the Future, Master Plan. The board was very well aware that the decision not to renovate our existing hall would mean a new facility was required and had a few ideas about what and where that might be including incorporating into a revamped civic space in the town centre and starting again on the original site. The Master Plan process has been the vehicle for progressing ideas about a new hall.
The idea of a culture and heritage precinct seems to be one that the community have an appetite for, the notion that we connect our hall with possible museum facilities and link to the Old Cromwell heritage precinct makes sense to the Cromwell community and there is an opportunity to build something that will meet our community needs into the future and that is a building that we can be proud of for our town. It is exciting that there seems to be more consensus around this than in the past and a real sense that we are going to end up with something great.
There are current questions around timing, costings, the place of the Cromwell Cutural Centre Trust, whether the museum will be incorporated, whether there will be an impact on current land use in the area and other building owners, how the war memorial will be honoured and the links to the Old Cromwell Heritage precinct. The other question is about management of the current building while we are waiting for a new plan to work its way through the system.
So, timing, costing and the place of the Cromwell Cultural Centre Trust are all linked. The scope of the types of buildings that are being considered will cost considerably more than the original renovation plan. Initial opposition to the renovation project was cost - so it is important to make sure it is understood that for this project to deliver the type of building that was indicated in the Master Plan consultation documents or the type of building the the CCCT are proposing, the costs are going to be much higher than the renovation project. It is great that we have a trust who want to be a real driver for this project and I am sure that this will be a strong partnership with the CCB and CODC in delivering this project to the community.
So what is the hold up - why don't we just hand it over to them now? The trust have been speeding ahead in the background, getting a groundswell of interested parties, scoping the sort of building that the community are interested in and getting enthusiasm going for the notion of a new building.
The hold up is the Master Plan work that the CODC executive team are doing so that we are very clear of the possible impacts on our community of the scope of this project and others that may be included in terms of capital works and the implications on our reserves and rates. The work streams will need to be included in the Long Term Plan. There are also careful negotiations to take place in terms of the honouring of the existing war memorial and what the connection to the new building will be and also in terms of the possible impact on the Town and Country Club who are in a prime lake side position.
This isn't procrastination, it is due diligence. We are all really keen to see this progressed and we know the involvement of a trust to support the project is a really positive step - but we do need to look at it in terms of a wider picture - not in isolation. That bigger picture is the investment both in time and money that has already happened in pulling together the Cromwell Master Plan. I am sure because of community interest and enthusiasm that it will be one of the first projects 'off the rank' once we get to the implementation phase.
The other consideration that we have is the current building, the concerns over the earthquake safety rating and what, if anything is going to be done to keep it safe and useable in the short term. The main issue being that our community is lacking a facility while decisions are finalised, costings sorted and plans considered.
What is the right course of action? Do we spend some money on the facility to fix the most urgent needs to keep it useable? Do we close it? I think these are issues that will be debated fully both in the community and around the CCB table.
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| The Cromwell Memorial Hall |
The decision to shelve upgrade plans was made around the time of the inception of the Eye to the Future, Master Plan. The board was very well aware that the decision not to renovate our existing hall would mean a new facility was required and had a few ideas about what and where that might be including incorporating into a revamped civic space in the town centre and starting again on the original site. The Master Plan process has been the vehicle for progressing ideas about a new hall.
The idea of a culture and heritage precinct seems to be one that the community have an appetite for, the notion that we connect our hall with possible museum facilities and link to the Old Cromwell heritage precinct makes sense to the Cromwell community and there is an opportunity to build something that will meet our community needs into the future and that is a building that we can be proud of for our town. It is exciting that there seems to be more consensus around this than in the past and a real sense that we are going to end up with something great.
There are current questions around timing, costings, the place of the Cromwell Cutural Centre Trust, whether the museum will be incorporated, whether there will be an impact on current land use in the area and other building owners, how the war memorial will be honoured and the links to the Old Cromwell Heritage precinct. The other question is about management of the current building while we are waiting for a new plan to work its way through the system.
So, timing, costing and the place of the Cromwell Cultural Centre Trust are all linked. The scope of the types of buildings that are being considered will cost considerably more than the original renovation plan. Initial opposition to the renovation project was cost - so it is important to make sure it is understood that for this project to deliver the type of building that was indicated in the Master Plan consultation documents or the type of building the the CCCT are proposing, the costs are going to be much higher than the renovation project. It is great that we have a trust who want to be a real driver for this project and I am sure that this will be a strong partnership with the CCB and CODC in delivering this project to the community.
So what is the hold up - why don't we just hand it over to them now? The trust have been speeding ahead in the background, getting a groundswell of interested parties, scoping the sort of building that the community are interested in and getting enthusiasm going for the notion of a new building.
The hold up is the Master Plan work that the CODC executive team are doing so that we are very clear of the possible impacts on our community of the scope of this project and others that may be included in terms of capital works and the implications on our reserves and rates. The work streams will need to be included in the Long Term Plan. There are also careful negotiations to take place in terms of the honouring of the existing war memorial and what the connection to the new building will be and also in terms of the possible impact on the Town and Country Club who are in a prime lake side position.
This isn't procrastination, it is due diligence. We are all really keen to see this progressed and we know the involvement of a trust to support the project is a really positive step - but we do need to look at it in terms of a wider picture - not in isolation. That bigger picture is the investment both in time and money that has already happened in pulling together the Cromwell Master Plan. I am sure because of community interest and enthusiasm that it will be one of the first projects 'off the rank' once we get to the implementation phase.
The other consideration that we have is the current building, the concerns over the earthquake safety rating and what, if anything is going to be done to keep it safe and useable in the short term. The main issue being that our community is lacking a facility while decisions are finalised, costings sorted and plans considered.
What is the right course of action? Do we spend some money on the facility to fix the most urgent needs to keep it useable? Do we close it? I think these are issues that will be debated fully both in the community and around the CCB table.
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