11 September 2018

Media: Stuff

Topic: Rotorua's grant from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund

Inquiry

The reporter requested comment from Mayor Chadwick in the wake of the announcement Rotorua is in line for just over a million dollars of Tourism Infrastructure Fund money.

($453,250 of funding for an upgrade of toilets, ramp and jetties at Boyes Beach Reserve and Acacia Road Lakefront Reserve.

$499,234 of funding for the construction of toilets, carparks and walkways at Okere Falls Scenic Reserve.)

• Firstly I wanted to ask Steve how important this funding is?
• Secondly, are there further projects that funding may be sought for in further rounds?
• Lastly, has Rotorua's tourism numbers grown to the extent that more central Government funding will be required in the future, even if specific projects aren't known now?

Response

Please attribute the following to Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick:

Through my work on the Responsible Camping Working Group, I am very aware of the pressures that increased tourism is putting on infrastructure in popular visitor

destinations across the country. Lake Ōkareka is a particularly popular spot for visitors to the Rotorua district and we are very excited that our funding application for infrastructural enhancements at this lake has been accepted. It is a significant amount of money that will enable Council, working alongside the Lake Ōkareka community, Tūhourangi and the Lakes Community board, to ensure that infrastructure can be upgraded to accommodate growing visitor numbers.

Council and the Lake Ōkareka Community Association (LOCA) worked together on the Tourism Infrastructure Fund application and provided a well thought out proposal to the Ministry. Such partnerships between Council, community boards, iwi and local community groups provide a great framework for attracting funding and fast tracking much needed improvements to keep abreast of increasing visitor numbers. There are other lakeside reserves within our district feeling the pressure to accommodate visitors and there may be other opportunities to apply for TIF funding to enable us to implement further projects to address this. We are also about to embark on work to monitor how a number of these reserves are used by responsible campers and what facilities may be required in future.

More info: Further consultation with the Lake Okareka residents and iwi will be carried out to discuss the details of how the funding will be used.

The following project was not lodged by Rotorua Lakes Council:

• $499,234 of funding for the construction of toilets, carparks and walkways at Okere Falls Scenic Reserve

And suggest you may want to check in with MBIE or Minister's office about a contact

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Media: Stuff

Topic: Royal visit to Rotorua

Inquiry

The reporter requested a suggestion from Mayor Chadwick about things Prince Harry and Meghan should do on their planned visit to Rotorua.

Response

Please attribute the following to Her Worship:

We look forward to being able to share with Prince Harry and Meghan the spirit of manaakitanga that Rotorua has always been famous for. Of course we will be showing off our taonga - our lakes and our forest - and most importantly the way we celebrate our unique attributes as the home of Māoridom.