Hello Te Mata Park supporters –

This is a call for your assistance. We are encouraging members of the community to support the Te Mata Park Trust’s submission to the HB Regional Council for a contribution towards the construction of the Te Mata Park Visitor & Information Centre. Submissions are due by this coming Wednesday 16 May so we hope you will find a moment to add your voice to this process
To find out more about how to make a submission, please visit the Te Mata Park website homepage. Many thanks, Bruno Chambers (Chairman, Te Mata Trust)

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Council earmarks $750k for visitor centre

Hastings District Council has earmarked $750,000 towards the Te Mata Peak visitor centre but the public will have the final say on whether ratepayer money should be spent on the $4 million project.

The council agreed to pencil the money into its long-term plan which goes out for public consultation at the end of March, with a final decision expected in June.

The sum is in addition to the $350,000 the council pledged a few years ago to the Te Mata Park Trust, which is heading the initiative.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the council “voted unanimously” to include the $750,000 for the visitor centre in the long-term plan.

“But it has to get public support first during the consultation period of the long term plan,” Mr Yule said.

The money has been put in the long-term plan for year three so if approved will be available in 2015. That will give the trust a few years to seek support from other funders.”

News of the potential funding injection spread among those attending Sunday’s Redwood Sessions in Te Mata Park, a musical event run by the trust.

Trust board chairman Bruno Chambers said a model of the visitor centre was set up at the redwoods venue to show people what the project would look like.

“We hope the level of support shown by the Hastings District Council will encourage similar support from the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Napier City Council for the project,” Mr Chambers said.

“It needs to be stated that the timeframe for the centre has been put back by a few years so we are just adjusting our sights.”

It was the second year the trust had run the Redwood Sessions and this year’s offering included well-known Hawke’s Bay musician Gregory Squire who conducted Orch-es-trate which was an ensemble of Hawke’s Bay orchestral musicians including Jon Fletcher, Margot Pierard and William Winitana.

“We are looking at doing two Redwood Sessions a year but I don’t think we will settle on one style of music,” Mr Chambers said.

“We will be looking at what’s available and hopefully booking in people early,” he said.

Te Mata Peak Centre

• More than 200,000 people visit Te Mata Park each year but there is nowhere to tell of its history, ecology and cultural significance.
• The visitor and education centre will meet these demands as well as providing car parking for the increasing number of tour buses bringing visitors to the mountain.
• The centre will include a small theatre, an information area, toilets, cafe and a small retail/office area.
• A feature will be the circular viewing platform which will look over the Heretaunga Plains.
• There will also be a central open area which can be used for powhiri.

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STORY from Hawkes Bay Today Newspaper