Community Projects

The township revitalisation journey...

Council's involvement in the township revitalisation journey got underway following discussions with Ruapehu communities for the 2016-2017 Annual Plan. This had highlighted that people had significant aspirations for the future of their town, community and the district and wanted to see greater speed and progress on the ground.

The common message was that people were tired of 'waiting for things to happen' and wanted to see tangible signs of progress in their township along with the opportunities and investment that comes with it.

Over September 2016 Council held a series of public meetings in:

The meetings covered a wide range of issues including what sort of development people wanted to see for their townships. Since these early meetings township revitalisation has been part of Council's long-term planning process with funding allocated to ensure momentum is maintained.

Long Term Plan and Pride of Place Funding

Confirmation of the larger projects and their funding were a key part of the 2018/28 Long Term Plan discussion. This saw $8.4m budgeted for township revitalisation and $50,000 per year for a Pride of Place Fund to provide funding for smaller township projects.

The major projects for the 2018/21 period have been; the redevelopment along the main street (Hakiaha St) in Taumarunui including a new central park area and the realignment of parking to support the planned redevelopment of the railway station building, and a Park and Ride Facility in National Park that benefited from Government infrastructure grant funding.

2021/31 Long Term Plan and Pride of Place Funding

Council has budgeted almost $11m over the first five years of the current 2021/31 Long Term Plan period. This is in anticipation of the first project of the Future Ohakune Plan, phase 3 of Taumarunui revitalisation, the Raetihi Hub and National Park Village Plan. We have also increased Pride of Place Funding from $500,000 to $1m over the ten years of the LTP.

This level of expenditure in the first half of the LTP will maintain the momentum of the revitalisation journey. It will enable townships with projects underway to continue to see progress, while townships with projects in the planning stages can have certainty of the projects getting underway.

Due to the success of the Pride of Place fund in 2018-21 the budget was increased to $100,000 for the next triennium.

Community input setting the pace and direction.

The speed and direction of township revitalisation projects is being determined by each individual township. Communities have reacted enthusiastically to being able to take part in township revitalisation discussions. Council would like to strongly encourage people to stay engaged with the revitalisation process.

Council's vision.

Council's vision is to create an environment which will facilitate the development of prosperous rural communities that are able to capitalise on our agriculture, business and tourism sectors while sustaining our beautiful environment.

The objectives are to improve the well-being and quality of life for our communities by:

Creating and retaining jobs,
Supporting and growing incomes and
Increasing the ratepayer base.

Council is committed to providing the governance, leadership and facilitation to enable this vision.

How we have responded.

Council has responded to community calls for tangible signs of progress by:

Bringing forward the delivery of community development projects wherever possible.
Committing resources to supporting communities and community organisations to update or enhance and deliver community development plans.

The level of support required for communities and community organisations has varied by township. Some townships have on-going development plans while others are starting the conversation amongst themselves. All townships however share a common desire to get things moving.

Have your say in the process!

Township revitalisation is a journey and we won't get to the finish line in one swoop. Putting our townships on a path to growth and prosperity will take ideas, energy and passion from the people who will benefit the most - our local communities.

We are encouraging residents, ratepayers, friends and other stakeholders to have their say on what they want for their township.