Kaiapoi hub planning progresses

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, local democracy reporter

After years of planning, Satisfy Food Rescue is excited work will start on the Kaiapoi Community Hub site soon.

The Waimakariri District Council is planning for site works to start in September, to kick start the proposed $6.8 million project in the former red zone, situated between Charters St and Courtenay Drive.

‘‘There is still a lot of work to do and we are going to need a lot of support from the community, but we are so excited that it is
starting soon,’’ Satisfy Food Rescue chairperson Phillipa Hunt said.

"It is pivotal for the project to be a success with purpose-built premises, so we can continue doing what we are doing, and to grow and provide more for the community groups that we look after."

Satisfy Food Rescue redistributes food from supermarkets and other outlets to more than 40 organisations, including food banks, in the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts, and in Christchurch.

The council is pitching in the first $1.6 million, and implementation project manager Duncan Roxborough said planning for enabling works, car park and croquet fields was in the detailed design stage.

He said the council is working closely with the recently established Kaiapoi Community Hub Trust and the Kaiapoi Croquet Club.

The trust was launched in March and is a collaboration between Satisfy Food Rescue, the Kaiapoi MenzShed and other community partners.

It has received a $200,000 grant from the Ministry of Social Development and is busy raising the remaining $5m.

Satisfy Food Rescue will occupy the northern end of the development, while the Kaiapoi MenzShed planned to build three sheds.

A shared community facility with a commercial kitchen and a large green space would also be established.

"It has such great potential in providing opportunities for collaboration and for all sorts of groups to be involved in ways we haven’t thought of yet," Hunt said.

The trust also planned to build an auditorium, with the possibility of a picture theatre and recording studio.

The Kaiapoi Croquet Club is also developing its own facility on the site with support from the council.

Other organisations had expressed an interest in joining the project and there were still sites available.

Speaking at last month’s Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community Board meeting, council community and recreation general manager Chris Brown said a
geotech report had been completed for the site.

Kaiapoi Community Hub Trust trustee Heath Kelly said the trust had several options to attract sponsors, including a legacy board and naming rights for buildings.

For information go to kaiapoihub.org