9 June 2005

Sturges West community to bless their new house

Sturges West community members will gather very early on the morning of 14 June to bless the site of their long-awaited community house.

Waitakere’s Mayor Bob Harvey, Council members and staff will be present at the blessing and for the sod-turning by Chairman of the Waitakere Community Board Christine Shepherd and the newly-appointed Chairman of the Sturges West Community House Incorporated Society David Hallet.

Work on the house, expected to be a hub for young and old in the community, is due to start soon after the blessing.

The building contract was recently awarded to local firm D.J. Wood Building Contractor.

“The community house is the result of a successful partnership between community and council over the past four years,” says Waitakere Community Board Chairman Christine Shepherd.

“There is a special feeling about this house because of the effort that so many have made to make sure it happened. There is a long-term vision for this place as a centre of living and learning,” she says.

The idea of a community house next door to Summerland Primary School grew into a model partnership between the community, council and the Ministry of Education. The council bought five sites in 2001 adjacent to Summerland Primary School, with nearby linkages to the many walking tracks along the Paramuka Stream and surrounding areas.

As a central meeting place for the community, the new facility will embrace the community’s multi-faceted needs. Prospective features include a large kitchen that will allow for catering and also for cooking demonstrations which may call upon the skills of the strong migrant presence in the area, “Kiwi Culture” classes, a staffed IT Learning Centre, enclosed playground, drop-in lounge, room for groups to meet.

ENDS

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