The Twizel community library is currently operated by Twizel Area School under a contract from Mackenzie District Council. The Ministry of Education is constructing a new school for Twizel, and once the new school building is operational, the school will not be able to continue to provide library services for the community.
The Ministry of Education have recently advised that due to a favourable tender for the building project, the build period will be considerably shorter than they initially envisaged. This means that the school will terminate the library contract at the end of December 2025, earlier than expected.
Council has been working for some time on options to ensure there is a library service in Twizel. Working with the Ministry of Education, council are making the necessary arrangements to operate the library from the existing location until the building is demolished sometime in 2026. We are also working with the Twizel Community Care Trust to establish a joint building, potentially on land adjacent to the Twizel Event Centre, to house both the Trust and the community library while longer term plans for a community hub are explored and developed. It is envisaged that the library will move to this location once the Ministry is in a position to demolish of the current library building.
There will likely be some interruptions to service while the school move their assets out of the library, but council will endeavor to keep this to a minimum. We will provide more information in the coming weeks and months as we finalise arrangements with Twizel Area School, the Ministry of Education and the Twizel Community Care Trust.