Hillside Rd pop-up hub expected to open midyear

The wait for a South Dunedin community hub to pop up is nearly over, after the Dunedin City Council yesterday confirmed the temporary facility would be in Hillside Rd.

The council had signed a two-year lease for the Cargill Enterprises premises at 199 Hillside Rd.

The hub was expected to open by the middle of this year, offering library services, a DCC service centre, Gig-speed Wi-Fi, meeting spaces and other public facilities.

Dunedin City Council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose and Cr Aaron Hawkins, chairman of the council's community and culture committee, stand outside the Cargill Enterprises office that will soon house a new pop-up community hub. Photo: Peter McIntosh.
Dunedin City Council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose and Cr Aaron Hawkins, chairman of the council's community and culture committee, stand outside the Cargill Enterprises office that will soon house a new pop-up community hub. Photo: Peter McIntosh.

It was expected to be open for about 25 hours each week, spread across five days and including one evening and Saturday mornings, council arts and culture group manager Bernie Hawke said.

The announcement came two months after South Dunedin Business Association chairman Craig Waterhouse voiced frustration at the time being taken to confirm the pop-up plans.

Yesterday, he welcomed the announcement and predicted the facility would be widely used, including by his own association.

''I think all of those services will be absolutely great for the community here. I think there will be a lot of groups that will be looking forward to using it.''

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said the hub showed the council's ''commitment to South Dunedin'', while council chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose said attention would turn next to developing a permanent facility.

''The signing of a lease for the pop-up hub is an important step in this process,'' she said.

The council would retrofit a hall on the site that was used four times a week for housie events, Mr Hawke said.

However, the hub's part-time hours meant the dual use could be accommodated, ''so housie will continue'', he said.

The introduction of a council service centre as part of the facility would allow South Dunedin residents to pay rates and other fees and charges, buy rubbish bags or resolve outstanding parking tickets at the office, he said.

It was hoped public input at the hub would also help shape plans for the permanent facility expected to follow, he said.

Debate over a South Dunedin library had ebbed and flowed for years, to the frustration of some residents, but by last September the council had identified a preferred site inside the former BNZ building in King Edward St from a longer list of site options.

Councillors had been expected to vote in September on the proposal to progress the $5.25 million development, which would be linked to the Gasworks Museum through Lorne St.

Councillors instead delayed a decision amid fresh concerns about the process, including a lack of consultation over the site.

Yesterday, Mr Hawke said the work completed by last September would be revisited once the pop-up hub was operating.

That would include revisiting the shortlist of sites and considering others that had emerged in the interim, followed by a fresh report to councillors, he said.

Dr Bidrose said the council had also been involved in work to consider ''the social and economic needs and strengths'' of the South Dunedin community.

Community groups and individuals would meet on May 18 to consider a ''collective action plan'' to lift the area's social and economic wellbeing, she said.

Cargill Enterprises chief executive Geoff Kemp said he was ''thrilled'' to be involved in the pop-up hub project, which would give his 94 staff access to a wide range of services and complement their numeracy and literacy training programme.

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

 

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