Evictions force loyal town hall tenants onto the street

The Women’s Centre Rodney is assessing the logistics and costs involved in relocating, following its sudden eviction from the Warkworth Town Hall.

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The Rodney Local Board gave all town hall tenants and user groups their marching orders on December 19 after fears were raised about the safety of the building. The eviction was immediate for user groups such as the Celebration Centre and Shotokan Karate, with the Women’s Centre and barber given a non-negotiable deadline of March 31.

Board chairman Bob Howard says the board made the ‘safety-first’ decision after receiving a report, which outlined how the facility fails current Building Code requirements. The 100-year-old hall will close while Auckland Council investigates options to strengthen and future-proof the Category 1 heritage building.

Women’s Centre coordinator Colleen Julian says the suddenness of the decision has left the centre reeling.

“I think the board panicked and made the decision without fully realising the ramifications for a service such as the Women’s Centre,” she says.

“Virtually a month was lost over Christmas when everyone went on holidays so now we’re left with just eight weeks to find suitable premises.”

The centre is looking at renting a house in Warkworth but will need a resource consent for a change of use, as well as numerous permits to meet Building Act compliance. Work will involve the installation of a disabled toilet and wheelchair access, which means re-concreting the driveway and widening doorways. Child-proofing the premises is another cost, which includes fencing the backyard.

“We can’t afford to close or not deliver the courses and services we’re funded to provide, as this could jeopardise future grants from our major funding sources such as Lotteries and the ASB Trust. Council is evicting us, but they are also making the job of finding new premises difficult. I can’t even get a definitive opinion from them on what we need to do and exactly what permits are required.”

Colleen says meeting Council costs alone will probably cost in excess of $20,000. On top of that will be the cost of fitting out the house to suit the centre’s purposes, new signage and advertising.

“Obviously we haven’t budgeted for any of this. In the past seven or eight years, we’ve spent about $10,000 upgrading the centre – it may not sound like much, but we operate on a shoestring budget.”

The women’s centre has been located at the town hall for 26 years. It handles more than 3000 enquiries a year and its services include subsidised counselling, a range of courses for women and young girls, art-based and computer courses, a successful young mothers’ programme which has recently been extended to include mothers aged 23 to 27 years, information, advice and referrals. It has run courses in Orewa and Mangawhai, and the Warkworth centre has lounge and library facilities.

Colleen says she finds it ironic that Council is evicting a group, which is providing precisely the services its own reports have identified as being important in Rodney.

Related story: Barber's business faces closure

Published 1 February 2012

Previous stories on localmatters.co.nz

December 2011 story, reaction and reader comments: Shock closure of Warkworth Town Hall
Report: Rodney Local Board Risk and Assurance update [PDF 65.6kb]
Related information: Rodney Local Board 'Information Sheet'
From the archives: History - A much-anticipated addition to Warkworth’s town centre