$15 Million Re-commitment to Revitalising St James Theatre, Takapuna Golf Course Wetlands Proposal w/ Councillor Shane Henderson: 6 March, 2025

Recently, Auckland Council has re-committed $15 million in funding; which they have pledged since 2016, to restore the historic St. James Theatre in Auckland’s CBD — one part of a cross-party agreement between the Council, Central Government, and owner of the theatre.

The theatre, which has been inoperational since a fire broke out in 2007, left significant damage and resulted in the closure of the venue.

The revitalisation of St James has seen support from the public and a variety of different figures, including the co-leader of the Green Party and MP for Auckland Central, Chlöe Swarbrick, and the organisation Save the St. James Theatre Auckland.

For our weekly catchup with Auckland Council, News and Editorial Director, Joel, spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson, about Auckland Council's re-commitment to revitalise the St James Theatre and their goals regarding this.

We also spoke about a proposal by Council to develop half of Takapuna Golf Course into wetlands, in aims of mitigating flooding risks which the area is susceptible to.

This move has been criticised by the Golf Course, who say there are better ways to adapt the park without taking away any of the area available to golfers.

But first, they started off by asking how Shane is feeling now that we are one step closer to having the St James operational again.