This park just south of the Waikanae River was opened five years ago and is now regularly used for soccer and casual recreation. Shortly after the initial development, local clubs were asked for ideas on how the space might be developed. Now there is a more formal process.
Getting your input
By Rob Cross
Public consultation on the future development of Otaraua Park opens this week.
Otaraua Park, on the south bank of the Waikanae River opposite the Te Arawai footbridge, has great potential for restoring biodiversity while providing recreational spaces and facilities for our community.
Please encourage your members to review the proposed Development Plan and participate in the survey.
Draft development plan opens for public input
For one month starting on 9 July, the Kāpiti Coast District Council is asking the community for feedback on the long-term draft development plan for the 60ha Otaraua Park.
Parks and Recreation Manager Alison Law says that a long-term plan is needed now to ensure future options are not compromised by early development.
“Over the past 18 months we’ve heard from a wide range of people about what they would like to see happen at Otaraua Park and, using their ideas and feedback, and the advice of our iwi partners, the draft plan has been developed to guide future investment in the park.”
The three focus areas of the survey ask:
- What you think about the priorities identified
- What specific ideas in the plan are most/least important to you
- How important developing Otaraua Park is to our community.
To view the full consultation document including the draft development plan and to complete an online survey, visit the Council website https://www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/Our-District/Our-Community/Parks-and-Recreation/otarauaparkfuture.
Thank you Bernie. It has really saddened me to see how you and your colleague in the Community Board Guy have been treated by the Mayor over he past two weeks. Thank you so much for opening up this important conversation with your important views. For the record, council provided me with 50 copies of the (Submission forms) yesterday…….except that it is actually a survey form/not a submission form. There is no consultation process happening here, and they wont extend the close of date past August 9th.
Councillor Elliott must be congratulated on her responsible and considered response to the huge costly development planned at Otaraua Park. Past Mayors have left us with expensive projects that were subsequently endured by ratepayers. Is this proposed development the current Mayors legacy? Well done Councillor Elliott. We as a Community are being overrated and undervalued.
As a Councillor, I am wondering why is it that such an extensive and expensive plan has been brought forward 50 years?
This park was intended to remain an open grassed space, part leased for grazing, part used for sportsfields and with continued investment in trees for the next 50 years. The answer is, someone approached council with an idea for major events. This equals economic development.
I am all for the development of the park in the future, but in my opinion it is fiscally irresponsible to be proposing the submitted plan and budgets with our current debt levels and OUTSIDE of the Long Term Plan process.
This plan was even a surprise to councilors and I have had real difficulty since last week getting a simple submission form to submit on it. Foregone conclusion, Yes. Staff driven, Yes. Please consider this carefully, please make a submission, meanwhile I will continue to try to get the submission deadline extended beyond 9th August.