Ashburton District Council has a range of meeting rooms, a large events space and AV studio that are available for public use in the Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, Te Whare Whakatere.

Bookings are subject to availability and fair use, and can be made online from today.

People and Facilities Group Manager Sarah Mosley said while the primary use of the rooms was for council business and library programmes, other people can also book the spaces when available.

“We’re really excited to be in the new building and want the community to be able to use it as much as possible too.”

Most of the meeting rooms are on the ground floor, with a tiered charging system (free, half rates, full rates) for external users based on a meeting’s purpose and or community benefit.

Individuals or community groups who wish to host a meeting or event that focuses on social, cultural and environmental wellbeing or providing learning opportunities (within library hours), should email us at library@adc.govt.nz or call us on 308-7192, as the booking could be free.

Private bookings can be made by corporate, government agencies, or individuals and range from $20 an hour for a small room to $40 an hour for a large room with kitchenette. Day and half-day rates are also available, with meetings that start and or finish outside of the library hours also possible in some meeting rooms, with any associated security costs covered by the user.

“The fees and conditions of use are included on the booking page and if you’re not sure if your community group meets the criteria for the free or reduced rates, or if you have questions, please get in touch,” Ms Mosley said.

The meeting rooms have TV and video conferencing ability and are a range of sizes, to accommodate groups as small as five or as large as 30, as well as a crowd of about 70 in the event space, that has tiered seating and a 200 inch LED wall.

Making an online booking requires a minimum lead time of 72 hours to allow for weekends and public holidays, and can be made up to 30 days in advance. Contact Council for regular repeat bookings or those beyond 30 days.

Catering, and tea and coffee services within meeting rooms can be arranged privately by contacting our onsite café One Ninety Nine, other local caterers or you can bring your own suitable food, as two meeting rooms have kitchen facilities. Occupants are required to leave spaces clean and tidy with the same room setup.

With the move to Te Whare Whakatere, the library’s hours changed to 8.30am to 6pm on Mondays and Fridays, 8.30am to 8pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

See the rooms that can be booked here