Ratepayer group 'ignored' over Oruru Hall concerns

Oruru and Inland Valleys Ratepayer Association members, from left, John Folkard (chairman, Taipa), Kath Adams (deputy chair, Oruaiti) and Tracey McClurg (committee member, Peria) present a petition calling on the Far North District Council to save the iconic Oruru Hall. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Members of a Far North ratepayer group say they're fed up with being ignored over a historic community hall which has been shut down due to safety fears.

The Oruru and Inland Valleys Ratepayer Association presented a 700-signature petition to councillors last week calling on the Far North District Council to stump up with long-promised funding to repair Oruru Hall.

Inland from Taipa in Doubtless Bay, Oruru Hall — known as Swamp Palace when it housed an iconic movie theatre — was built in 1902 as for the cable station at Cable Bay and later shifted upriver for use as a community hall.

It was closed for safety reasons in July after an inspection by council staff found it had deteriorated badly.

Speaking to last week's council meeting, association deputy chairwoman Kath Adams said in 2014 council staff had found the building was in need of $593,000 in deferred maintenance.

Following meetings between the association, the council and Te Hiku Community Board, the council allocated $250,000 in its 2014-15 budget for structural reinstatement.

However, Adams said the money had not been paid out, and the decision to further defer the funding had been based on false information that the hall wasn't being used.

''The community feels very let down. We've had enough of being ignored.''

She said the association had been requesting information on the precise reasons for the hall's closure for three months but had yet to receive a clear explanation.

The association was keen to take over ownership of the hall and seek external funding for upgrades, but was unable to do anything until structural repairs were carried out.

The petition called on the council to carry out urgent health and safety repairs so the hall could reopen and to provide a timeline for the rest of the repairs.

Councillor Mate Radich, however, said the hall was in ''a hell of a state'' and questioned how many functions it hosted a year.

Most people in the area preferred to hold their functions at the Eastern Rugby Club rooms at Taipa, he said.

Adams said Oruru Hall hosted about 30 events a year but later revised that figure to 66 bookings in the six months until the hall was closed in July. Those bookings included dance rehearsals, concerts, private functions, committee-organised events and meetings.

Far North mayor John Carter committed to holding a public meeting for a ''full and frank discussion'' of the hall's future. He would attend along with community board members and possibly local councillors.

A wider discussion about the Far North's community halls was also required, he said.

''We have 27 public halls and some private halls around the district. We need to ask ratepayers if they are happy to keep paying for all these halls.''

The association's plans for the hall includes making it a vibrant community hub again, an honour board for war dead, and applying to Heritage New Zealand for historic building status.

■ A public consultation meeting about the future of Oruru Hall will be held at Eastern Rugby Club, East St, Taipa, at 2pm on November 11.