The Cromwell Community Board (CCB) has endorsed a report on changes to the proposed new Memorial Hall and Events Centre.

The board also agreed to make the plans public for feedback.

A drop-in centre to get feedback from the public will be established in Cromwell in the next few weeks.

People visiting the drop-in centre will also be able to immerse themselves in the plans via virtual reality headsets. 

The preliminary floor plan

Central Otago District Council (CODC) deputy mayor Neil Gillespie was enthusiastic about the new concept plans and looked forward to receiving all public feedback, whether positive or negative.

"I reckon that it's great to see where things are going. It's really exciting," he said.

Cromwell Community Board (CCB) chair Anna Harrison was keen to get the community on board with the design, planned location and the story of the site itself. 

"The building is on a very significant site for the history of Cromwell from pre-European history right through." 

A movie theatre is proposed for the development

Initially, the board was just to receive the report, but Anna recommended the board go further. 

"We want to be able to endorse that we think that the designs are going in the right direction and endorse those next steps of connecting with our community to make sure that we've got them behind us on this journey,” she said.

The CCB has endorsed the preliminary design of the hall and events centre for engagement with the community. The design can be found on the CODC ‘Let's Talk’ website.

There will be drop-in sessions for public feedback in March.

The board also resolved to meet with external funders; and the developed design is to be presented to the board for approval at its May meeting.