May 2022 - Project update

At its 29 March meeting the Cromwell Community Board was presented with a report to consider closing the current Cromwell Memorial Hall and the project delivery process for the Cromwell Memorial Hall/Events Centre project.

After discussion, the Board agreed to put the item on hold until it had a better understanding of what they would be delivering for the community.

Cromwell Community Board Chair and Project Advisory Group member Anna Harrison said on the Board’s Facebook page that the board is “fully behind the building of a new hall/events centre but would like to see some concept plans and initial costings before the existing hall is closed and demolished”.

“The intention is not to slow things down. The Board wants to ensure the concept designs tick those boxes of what the community has said it wants and needs from the new hall before we proceed to demolition.”

While the Board put those decisions on hold, work has been progressing behind the scenes on the investigation phase of the project. Investigations got underway with workshops and meetings in with stakeholders in January and mid-February. These focused on the project vision, objectives, sustainability, resilience, the site, benchmarking, functional and operational requirements for the build.

Project Manager Darren Penketh said other key pieces of work that have been completed that will inform the design included geotechnical and asbestos reports and input from theatre specialists.

A visual timeline for the project has also been created to illustrate the stages of the project. It indicates the key milestones along the way where the community can expect to hear from Council with updates. The next step in the process is the delivery of concept design plans, expected in August.