Omakau has been given the green light to build its estimated $5 million community hub on the town’s reserve.

The Omakau Reserve Management Plan was recently adopted by the Central Otago District Council (CODC), which has allowed for the existing rugby clubrooms and camp kitchen to be decommissioned, with the clubrooms to be housed in the proposed hub.

A new camping ground kitchen will be constructed next to the existing ablution blocks and the playground could be relocated to where the existing clubrooms are.

Manuherekia Valleys Charitable Trust committee chair Andrew Paterson provided an update on the hub project at yesterday’s final council meeting for the year, stating there was a shortfall of about $1.2 million to $1.5 million.

The community hub would effectively provide a one-stop-shop for a large range of groups, while also providing a space for functions to be held.

Andrew said there were three buildings in Omakau, which were not fit for purpose and showcased the need for a community facility the wider community could make use of.

One of those buildings was the rugby club rooms, a facility that was serving a need now, but needed extensive work done to it - either a major renovation or replacement.

He said another building that required attention was the toy library, a basic facility that has no lights or running water.

The future of the Omakau Community Centre is also in jeopardy, due to the amount of work that needs to be done to it.

In 2014 an initial earthquake assessment of the building found it was only 22 per cent of the new building standard and estimated structural strengthening to cost about $230,000.

He said the aim was to put those three buildings into one, along with a range of other groups in the community who do not currently have a building or clubrooms to work from.

The state of the town’s existing buildings meant the community had reached a “critical situation”.

A small committee of people have been working behind the scenes on various elements of the project over several years, including design concepts and fundraising.

The group has so far raised about $4 million, including trust grants, and will add to that on December 28 when it hosts a golf tournament fundraiser.

Read more: Omakau Community Hub making progress