2019 Photographic pop up display, in the foyer of the Karori Event Centre.

 

What is the Karori Event Centre (KEC)?

It will be a multi-purpose facility allowing for an array of community and cultural events and activities to occur. The KEC will be operated by the Karori Community Centre and available for uses and users in Karori and beyond. The KEC helps ensure we have a city that provides fit-for-purpose community, creative and cultural spaces that contribute to thriving suburban centres. It will also strengthen resilience as a hub for response and recovery in a future civil emergency.

Click here to see some of the exciting things that will happen in the KEC.

Why is a petition needed?

We need Councillors to know there is strong community expectations that they will FUND, FINISH and OPEN the KEC. If they decide to pull the funding and not include it in their draft Long-term Plan (LTP) for 2024-34, it will be almost impossible to get it reinstated through the public consultation phase of the LTP process. Without that funding, the KEC will likely remain unfinished for at least the next four years.

Wellington City Council need to know that community projects are just as important as civic projects! 

Why are Wellington City Council considering pulling the funding?

Wellington City Council are preparing their Long-term Plan for 2024-34. They have major fiscal challenges and are looking to make savings by cutting costs from their current budget. We expect Councillors will be advised to cut the existing funding for the KEC. The meeting where they make the decision about what will be included in the draft LTP, is on 15 February 2024. 

How much funding has Wellington City Council committed to finish the Karori Event Centre?

Funding of $1.9m was agreed by Wellington City Council in September 2022 to FUND, FINISH and OPEN the KEC. The building was gifted to Council in December 2022 based on that commitment. The Deed of Gift, signed by Wellington City Council included a further commitment that they would make ‘best endeavours’ to complete the KEC. That commitment has not yet been fulfilled.

Can the KEC be finished and open for $1.9 million that Wellington City Council promised?

We believe $1.9 million is sufficient for Wellington City Council to FUND, FINISH and OPEN the KEC. It will require careful management to achieve this, and it may not deliver all the bells and whistles we might have wanted. The Trust will look to raise funds for some items, and others may have to be delayed. The Trust can also look to raise funds in the future to help do this. 

Why should Wellington City Council keep its commitment to FUND, FINISH and OPEN the KEC?

The KEC was gifted to Council in December 2022 based on their commitment in September 2022 of $1.9 million to FUND, FINISH and OPEN the KEC. The Deed of Gift, signed by Wellington City Council included a further commitment that they would make ‘best endeavours’ to complete the KEC. That commitment has not yet been fulfilled.

That commitment also matters because it replaced an earlier undertaking from Wellington City Council. The St John’s site at the corner of Karori Road and Campbell Street is where previously, three community halls were located. In 1999, the Methodist Church partially gifted this site to the Council for community use. In recognition of this gift and its intent, in 2013 Council agreed to provide the proceeds from the sale of this site for the new KEC. Wellington City Council still holds this corner site as an asset, and the eventual sale of this land will offset the funding committed to the KEC.

Why was the KEC built?

Wellington City Council has repeatedly recognised the need for this facility. Reports they commissioned in 2006 and 2016 both confirmed there is a strong need for a new community hall. That need has only increased as the population has grown. At least eight other hall spaces have also been lost to the community over this period.

How was the build of KEC funded?

KEC was constructed by the Karori Community Hall Trust for a cost of about $2.8 million. Close to $2m came from community grants and donations, and voluntary efforts. Much of this was with the understanding that Wellington City Council would provide funding for the project from the sale of the St John’s site. The Council provided $610,000 as an advance on the proceeds of the future sale of that site, and $310,000 from costs it avoided to upgrade the old community halls that were there.

Why was KEC built without funding for the fitout?

In 2016, the Trust awarded a contract to proceed and complete the base build to get a weather tight structure.  This was because it had $750,000 in grants for the build that would have expired, if not used then. The Trust’s intention was to continue to raise funds for the fit out separately, having had positive indications of support from funding bodies. However, the priorities of the funding bodies changed after the Kaikoura earthquakes in 2017. The Trust also knew that WCC had committed to provide the proceeds from the eventual sale of the St John’s site. 

What is the history of community halls on the St John’s site and why was KEC developed?

The following is a short summary of the history of community facilities on the Karori site, of the gifts to WCC and the rationale for the development of the Karori Event Centre (KEC).

 1841 - The first community chapel was established on the land where the Karori Library now stands.

1893 - The Methodist Church purchased land on the corner of Karori Road and Campbell Street.

1923 - A church, school and parsonage had been established by this date, on adjoining properties.

 1959 - St John’s Church was built on the corner of Campbell St and Karori Road and the old church made available for community use.

 1987 - The parsonage had been converted into the Karori Lighthouse Community Centre as a joint venture between the Methodist Church and WCC. Several community facilities were now co-located on the corner of Karori Road and Campbell Street: the St John’s Church, the old wooden church hall, the old school building (used by the St John’s Op Shop) and the Lighthouse Community Centre.

1994 - The St John’s Church became a community hall.

1999 - The entire St John’s site was sold by the Methodist Church to WCC for $500,000, significantly less than the market value. The Methodist Church indicated at the time that the difference was a gift to WCC on the basis that the land would continue to be used for community purposes.

 2001 - Karori Town Centre Development Project was started by WCC. Key elements including a new community centre (on the current site of 7 Beauchamp Street) and moving the old wooden hall onto the current site of the KEC, for use as a community hall.

2005 - WCC decided that repurposing the wooden hall was too expensive. Later that year, the Replacement Community Hall Committee was formed which proposed the development of a new community hall to WCC. This recommendation was accepted by Council.

2007 - The Karori Community Hall Trust (KCHT) was established ‘to develop, design, build, equip and manage a multi-purpose community hall on land provided by the Wellington City Council adjacent to the Karori Community Centre in Karori, Wellington, as part of the community centre facilities’.

2007 - The old wooden hall and Lighthouse Centre were demolished.

2009 - Resource consent was granted for new community hall.

2011 - Fundraising for the KEC started.

2013 - WCC allocated $260,000 as a grant (equivalent to the cost avoided by not moving the old wooden hall + cpi). WCC also agreed to sell St John’s site and that the net proceeds would be allocated to KEC (consistent with the intent of the original gift of that site by the Methodist Church). These commitments were contingent on KCHT raising a further $1m.

2014 - The KCHT fundraising target of $1m was achieved.

 2016 - KCHT awarded a contract to construct the KEC having raised $2.8m. This included $610,000 from WCC as an advance on the net proceeds from the future sale of the St John’s site. KCHT did not have sufficient funds to complete the full build. However, because KCHT had $750,000 in grants for the build that would have expired, the decision was made to proceed and complete the base build to get a weather tight structure. The intention was to continue to raise funds for the fit out separately.

 2017 - The St John’s Church was demolished after being ‘yellow stickered’ as an earthquake risk.

Jan 2018 - Base build work of the KEC was completed on time and under budget.

2019 - KCHT made a submission to the WCC Annual Plan for 2019-20 to include $800,000 funding to complete the fit out. Fundraising efforts by KCHT had stalled due to changes in the fundraising environment post Kaikoura earthquake. This bid to WCC was declined, but councilors directed council officers to work with KCHT to resolve funding.

2020 - WCC approved a package of arrangements to complete the building and provide for future use of the facility by the community and Footnote New Zealand Dance Company. As part of those arrangements the Trust agreed to gift the completed building to WCC.

May 2022 – Footnote Dance NZ withdrew from the arrangement.

1 September 2022 – WCC agreed to $1.9 million capital funding to complete the KEC build and fit-out. They also agreed toaccept the gift of KEC from the KCHT and noted that the capital project would be managed by WCC.

14 December 2022 - The Trust gifted the building to WCC prior to completion with the expectation that WCC would complete the required fit out for the long-awaited replacement community hall.

July 2023 – WCC officers again revised estimates for completion of KEC to about $3.2m. This included remedial works, deferred maintenance, and considerable added costs for increased fire protection and for costs arising from a flood impact assessment provided in February 2023. Those costs are associated with potential flooding caused by inadequate WCC storm water drains. The modeled flooding impacts lower Campbell Street and Karori Road, including the Karori Community Centre, Library, Mobil, and homes and premises in the surrounding areas. KCHT believes remediation costs should not be included in the KEC fit-out costs as they relate to a wider systemic problem that WCC needs to address separately. KCHT believe the KEC fit-out can be completed for the $1.9m still currently in WCC’s budget.

November 2023 - WCC  considers proposals to cut service levels for the Long Term Plan 2024-34. Included is a proposal to investigate selling the KEC which would also remove the $1.9m funding commitment from their budget. After lobbying from the Trust, Councillors removed the option of selling and asked for further information on the costs to complete KEC. WCC officers subsequently advised the Trust that they will be recommending the removal of the previously committed funding as part of the draft Long Term Plan. That decision will be made on 15 February 2024.