SPCA Hobsonville Centre temporarily closing for much-anticipated refurbishment

The Centre in Hobsonville will be closed to the public from 1 September for a six-month period, with a planned reopening in April 2025.

The Centre was originally built with capacity to accommodate canines, felines, and an SPCA Doggy Daycare. Unfortunately, due to heavily reduced demand in the Doggy Daycare services following the Covid-19 pandemic, this part of the facility was closed in early 2022.

The Centre has continued to operate with the physical Doggy Daycare area remaining largely empty, as it is not fit to accommodate the other abused, neglected, and vulnerable animals in our care.

The Hobsonville Centre was reviewed and recognised to be under-utilised for the size of the building.

SPCA General Manager of Animal Services, Dr Corey Regnerus-Kell, says the refurbishment will provide much-needed facilities to accommodate more animals in need.

“The decision was made to refit Hobsonville to increase capacity, improve the caging facilities, and provide an improved, future-proof, fit-for-purpose Centre,” says Dr Regnerus-Kell.

“We’re excited to be able to provide these improvements to the community, and make proper use of the space within the building.”

The refit that will take place will see building work done spanning the entirety of the ground floor at the Centre. The fastest and most efficient way of making this happen is to temporarily close the Centre for a six-month period to allow the work to be completed as a whole, rather than piece by piece which would prolong the timeframe to complete this work.

SPCA Inspectorate staff will still be working on site during this time.

During the closure, members of the public can still contact our SPCA Māngere Centre, and other Centres in regards to welfare complaints, adoptions, fostering, or for guidance and support.

“Having such a connected network of Centres around the country is what allows us to effectively manage temporary closures such as this,” says Dr Regnerus-Kell. “During the closure, animals that would normally have been at our Hobsonville Centre will be shared amongst our shelter network across the country.”

SPCA continues its foster service in the area and will have a team member coordinating with the Hobsonville Centre’s foster parents.

SPCA thanks the community of North and West Auckland for its continued support and commitment to animal welfare.