Multicultural centre for Chch
A new multicultural centre being mooted to replace a netball centre in Christchurch would promote respect and understanding, and set the standard across the country, supporters say.
The city council looks set to buy the building in South Hagley Park for the venture.
It has $3 million put aside for a multicultural centre in the city and a staff recommendation suggests the site is ideally suited for community-based recreational, sporting and multicultural activities.
A stone’s throw from Hagley College – itself recognised as a centre of multicultural education and community support – at 2000 square metres, the netball centre offers plenty of space to accommodate a variety of activities.
Assuming the council agrees to buy the building it will invite the college to be a key community partner in the new centre.
Netball has been played in Hagley Park for 100 years, but the sport’s association with the area will largely come to an end when it moves to a new $20m indoor sports facility at the Nga¯ Puna Wai sports hub in the next few years.
While some courts will be retained for community sport, some of the hard spaces could be turned back into green space.
The need for such a multicultural site in Christchurch has been welcomed.
Hagley College principal Mike Fowler said using the netball facility for a multicultural centre was an exciting prospect. ‘‘As we move into a much more diverse and rich society in New Zealand and in Christchurch, this is exactly the kind of facility we should be developing,’’ he said.
‘‘The intention of this is to bring all cultures together.’’
Having a cultural diversity centre would help promote respect, cooperation and understanding between cultures, he said, while its prominent location would be ‘‘amazing’’ for Christchurch.
Fowler hoped it would become a flagship for similar projects around New Zealand.
That position was echoed by council staff.
‘‘The tragic events that occurred in our city on March 15 heightened the council’s resolve to provide a centre at the heart of our city where people of all backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities can socialise, play sport together, and simply enjoy life,’’ head of parks Andrew Rutledge said.
A report recommending the proposal will be put to councillors next week.