Forum North Trust Report for Council

Northland does not have the kind of large theatre that most communities in New Zealand take for granted. It has been without this kind of facility for many years.

Successive generations have missed out on the larger scale performances and shows that audiences elsewhere in the country can access readily. The Whangarei District Council’s intention to relocate their Civic functions has enabled the Forum North Trust 2013 to begin the planning required to be ready and able to construct an 850 seat flexible proscenium Performance Theatre as part of the existing Forum North buildings.

Such a development would create a Performing Arts Centre for Whangarei complementing the intimate theatre (Capitaine Bougainville)

and the larger multi-purpose space (Te Kotahitanga). It is an opportunity to reuse an existing facility; to regenerate a community space and to recycle spaces to encourage community access.