Headingly Centre

About this place

The Headingly Centre is a modern conference and events facility at 2 Headingly Lane, on the fringe of Richmond's CBD in the Tasman District. It is the home of Grace Church, and the building is actively marketed as a flexible hire venue for conferences, meetings, functions, workshops and community events.

Richmond is roughly 15 minutes from Nelson city centre and close to Nelson Airport, which makes the centre workable for delegates coming from across the Nelson Tasman region as well as those flying in.

Spaces and capacity

The centre accommodates groups from around 10 to 350 guests, with a range of rooms that can be taken individually or in combination:

• A 280-seat auditorium as the main plenary space
• A 100-seat overflow space
• Large and small meeting rooms for breakouts and workshops
• A large atrium and café area for registration, catering and networking
• Outdoor garden areas for breaks or informal functions

The combination of a sizeable auditorium, an overflow room and separate meeting rooms means a multi-stream conference programme can run entirely on one site.

Hire model, technical and facilities

Hire is offered on a sliding scale: an economical do-it-yourself option at one end, through to a fully serviced, walk-in walk-out conference package at the other. For most functions a Headingly Centre host is provided to help the event run to plan.

Optional extras include technical support for projection, sound and lighting, plus tables, whiteboards, smart TVs, two "brainstorming blackboard walls", billboard advertising and lawn games. A commercial kitchen on site supports catered functions; catering arrangements should be confirmed with the venue.

Parking is a genuine strength — the site has more than 200 parking spaces, along with bike racks. For regional conferences where most delegates drive, that removes a common friction point.

Meeting and event suitability

The Headingly Centre suits conferences and AGMs needing a plenary plus breakouts, corporate training and workshops, seminars, awards and dinner functions, and community or association events. The flexible hire tiers make it accessible to budget-conscious organisers as well as those wanting a fully managed day. It sits alongside the broader mix of Nelson venues as one of Richmond's principal purpose-built meeting facilities.