11 Aug 2022

Christchurch City Council is gifting buildings to two community trusts.

The Hornby Community Care Trust (HCCT) will be given the Hornby Library building in Goulding Avenue once the new Hornby library, customer services and south-west leisure centre has opened.

The Shirley Community Trust (SCT) is being gifted the MacFarlane Park Centre in Acheson Avenue.

“Both the buildings are surplus to the Council’s requirements so we are delighted to be in a position where we can essentially gift them to the community,’’ says Council Head of Community Support and Partnerships John Filselll.

“The Hornby Community Care Trust is doing wonderful work to encourage community wellbeing. The trust already owns the building next to the Hornby Library where it offers a broad range of services and activities including support groups, exercise classes, and life skill programmes.

“It has created a great community hub, which it is keen to expand into the library building and we are happy to help facilitate that,’’ Mr Filsell says.

“Likewise, we are pleased to be able to gift the MacFarlane Park Centre building to the Shirley Community Trust so they can use it for the increasing range of grassroots community based projects, services and activities they provide.’’

HCCT and SCT will take on full responsibility for the buildings. If either Trust decides it no longer requires their building, the Council will have the option of taking back ownership for the sum of $1.

“This is a win-win situation for us and we are keen to see more of our community buildings operated through partnership agreements that empower and strengthen grassroot organisations,’’ Mr Filsell says.

*The Council will seek expressions of interest from not-for-profit groups and private operators who may be interested in making use of the former Opawa Children’s Library building, either in the short to medium term on the existing site, or in the longer term through shifting the building to a new location.