About the project
A key action in our Strategy for Children and Young People policy is the creation of a social hub for young people where they can feel a sense of ownership and belonging in the central city.
Young people and local youth organisations have told the Council that the closure of venues like Reading Cinema and Te Matapihi (the central library) in Pōneke’s CBD has resulted in a lack of free, safe spaces for rangatahi to hang out. The idea for creating a space like Te Tai Ohinga sprouted from these conversations.
Located on Willis Street next to The Free Store & St Peter’s Church, and co-designed with local young people, Te Tai Ohinga is designed to be a space that is friendly, accessible, and multi-purpose.
Once open, the space will be managed by the The Y, who are also funded to run Te Pokapū Hapori, our community centre at 107 Manners Street.
Construction on Te Tai Ohinga has now begun, and the hub is expected to open its doors to young people in June of this year.
Who we spoke to
We spoke to young people across Pōneke to hear what they think a hub for young people should look like. To ensure good engagement with young people, we have:
- Run co-design workshops with local youth organisations and architects
- Talked to local schools
- Run pop-up street engagements
- Run drop-in sessions
- Conducted a survey.
We also took direction from our Advisory Groups such as Youth Council, and talked to other youth spaces in places like Auckland, Hamilton and Palmerston North.