Pookeno Community Hub

This project will see a new community hub with library and Council customer services built in Pookeno.

Council approved $6.5m for the development of the library and community hub as part of the 2021– 2031 Long Term Plan process. The Waikato District Blueprint 2019 also identified the need for a new library, community and customer services and facilities, among the priority initiatives for Pookeno.

A needs assessment and feasibility study is currently being carried out to consider who would use the library and community hub and what services and activities the library and community hub would need to offer to meet the current and future needs, location options and what it might look like.

Council’s recent purchase of 16 Market Road (where the fruit shop used to be) provides options to potentially better connect the project to Great South Road and the community hall space, and an opportunity to step back, engage with the community, consider the Pookeno Public Realm Concept Plan, and test the project options before hitting go on a preferred option.

Project update

May 2024 – At the second co-design workshop on 29 April, we worked through three draft site layout and plan options with the community to help determine the preferred option.

We’ll now take your workshop feedback and our analysis to refine that option, with the aim to go out to the community for feedback on the preferred option later in May.

So, if you weren’t able to make the second co-design workshop, there will be other opportunities in the coming weeks to provide feedback on the preferred option. We’ll also engage with more children and young people in Pookeno in the coming weeks, to get further input.

We’ll be publishing the co-design workshop report on here soon.