Civic hub result of community consultation deep dive

What lies beneath the bare site on Kaikohe’s main street, where the new Kaikohe Library and Civic Hub will one day sit? It’s the many layers of community consultation, that can’t be seen by the naked eye.

Planning a new facility at the intersection of Broadway and Raihara Street has been years in the making. More than 1000 residents have added their feedback to the mix, including taitamariki from five local schools, community members and Ngā Hapū o Kaikohekohe, a collective of six hapū in Kaikohe. This rōpū includes representatives from Te Uri-o-Hua, Takatoke, Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Whakaeke, Ngāti Tautahi me Te Matarahurahu and Ngai Tawake.

Encouraging community input to design a facility initially involved online surveys, voting, comment boards, and survey booklets. ĀKAU Design Studio also led several papamahi (workshops) to capture local input into design concepts for the library and the hub around it. A broader outreach with discussion sessions also generated ideas about the spaces needed to fit with the community now and where it sees itself in the future.

An important consideration for this project has been the relationship between the project site and the rūnanga whenua which sits adjacent to it. Ensuring a connection between the two sites has been a priority.

All the approaches to gathering the whakaaro (ideas) of those who will benefit from the new facility have identified key concepts and spaces to be included in the end design.

Finalised design plans for the new facility are expected to be completed by November with construction starting in the new year.

The ĀKAU report about its workshops and community engagement can be found here.