A blaze which gutted a Tauranga hall this week was the work of an arsonist, police have confirmed.

The Papamoa Hall goes up in flames

The Old Papamoa Hall was set alight early on Tuesday evening and was immediately deemed suspicious.

Police today confirmed the blaze in the Papamoa suburb of Tauranga was arson, and also revealed that an older style four door car was seen parked up by the vacant building shortly before the fire.

A car of similar description was also spotted pulling out of the hall's car park and onto the highway, causing another driver to swerve.

The hall was described by Tauranga City Councillor Steve Morris as an "an icon for the old Papamoa community".