Councillors agonise over Foxton War Memorial Hall decision

Published on July 03, 2023

Councillors debated for several hours on Wednesday 28 June to decide the fate of the earthquake prone Foxton War Memorial Hall.  A number of resolutions were tabled and voted down, including the transfer of the hall to the Foxton War Memorial Hall Incorporated Society before Council finally resolved to sell the building.

During the debate Council acknowledged the volunteers contributing their time to the Society and the work that had been put in to developing a business case, which aimed to retain the building.

Councillors spoke of the importance to uphold the heritage of the Foxton War Memorial Hall and the memorabilia and memories that were located within.  They resolved to allocate funding within existing budgets to retrieve and appropriately display Foxton War Memorial Hall memorabilia in a suitable location.  Councillors spoke about the importance of Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom as a multi-cultural  and multi-purpose visitor and community hub for Foxton and the role it could potentially play in housing and paying homage to heritage memorabilia.

Ultimately, there were several reasons that Council could not go past which led to their decision to sell the building.  The significant cost of obtaining a seismic assessment and remediation plan, and the Society’s ability to meet these costs and secure an ongoing income stream to maintain the building, were dominant factors. As too, were the ongoing maintenance costs associated with the building, Council’s own debt levels and the financial assumptions included in the Long Term Plan 2021-2041.

As a Council that has been working to tighten its belt, the decision to sell felt prudent and aligned with what Council said it would do in the 2018-2038 Long Term Plan, which was to ‘own and maintain only core property by 2028’. This direction was backed by public in 2015 when the Property Strategy was consulted on subsequently adopted.

Deputy Mayor David Allan says, “While it is with a heavy heart we’ve made the decision to sell this beautiful building, we have had to think about what’s in the best interests of the wider Horowhenua district.”