The following is a joint media release from Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Limited and the Whakatāne District Council.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Limited and the Whakatāne District Council have agreed to a collaborative approach to redeveloping the Whakatāne commercial wharf and its facilities.
All three organisations will be represented on a governance group which will oversee the redevelopment proposal and, potentially, any projects which flow from it. The combined approach recognises the parties’ significant interests in the Whakatāne waterfront area and the need to consider cultural, historic and commercial imperatives in any development plans.
Mayor Tony Bonne says the Eastern Bay of Plenty Visitor Economy Strategy identifies Whakatāne harbour and wharf development, along with a land-based White Island/Whakaari experience centre, as one of the region’s biggest and most unique tourism opportunities.
“Our ageing commercial wharf has to be replaced in the next few years,” he says. “Given the 50-100 year lifespan of any new waterfront assets, it’s important that we find a collaborative approach which both recognises the immense cultural significance of the area to iwi and hapū, and provides for current and future needs.”
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Awa Group Holdings are significant property and tourism stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of the commercial wharf and waterfront. They own and operate tourism businesses including White Island Tours and accommodation, the Army Hall adjacent to the commercial wharf, and Te Manuka Tūtahi Marae, which houses the world-class Mataatua wharenui visitor cultural experience. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Awa Group Holdings are obvious partners for Council to progress the commercial wharf development for Whakatāne and its communities.
Leonie Simpson, CEO Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa says that the collaboration is a positive step forward to support sustainable development for Whakatāne that embraces the social, cultural and commercial interests of the iwi.
“Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa is pleased to participate in a collaborative approach with Council to imbed our cultural, social and commercial aspirations at the design, development and implementation phases. We are interested in positive, long-term intergenerational outcomes for Ngāti Awa, because ultimately, positive outcomes for Ngāti Awa will also benefit Whakatāne.”
The Council has set aside $6 million for wharf replacement, on a like-for-like basis, in its 2018-28 Long Term Plan. Depending on the scale and nature of any final waterfront development proposal, it’s likely that a venture funding application will be made to the Government’s Tuawhenua Provincial Growth Fund, which has $1 billion a year available to promote regional growth.