Green light for $5m Mount Maunganui information centre

Tourists enjoying the end of the day at Coronation Park, Mount Maunganui, the proposed site for a new visitor centre which has just got the green light to go ahead. Photo/file

Tauranga City Councillors have agreed ratepayers will help foot the bill for a $5 million information centre for Mount Maunganui.

The council has this morning voted 9-1 for plans to build a new iconic information centre and i-Port to go ahead. Councillor Catherine Stewart was the only one to vote against the proposal.

Councillors voted ratepayers will pay $4m of the $5m, with $2m to come from commercial ratepayers and the same from residential ratepayers.

The tourism industry was expected to pay $1m of the bill, the cost of which was expected to transform a basic building into an iconic building.

The decision will go out to the public as part of the 2017-18 draft annual plan for public consultation.

A concept design showing what the new Mount Maunganui information centre could look like. IMAGES/JASMAX

Tourism Bay of Plenty preferred to have the new centre located on the corner of Maunganui Rd and Nikau Cres instead of the traditional site of Salisbury Ave.

However, the council plans to consult the public on the future location of the centre.

Councillor Gail Macintosh said: "Now is the time for the tourism industry to step up".

The process included Mayor Greg Brownless and council chief executive Garry Poole discussing potential access routes for cruise ship passengers to the visitor information centre.