Project plans to be released

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule.

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 budgeted for the overall project"

The IWP will be ready to put their ideas to Hastings District Council at its December public meeting.

"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," Mr Yule said.

"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."