John Clements stands in front of the area that could become The Market Square.
John Clements stands in front of the area that could become The Market Square.
Let’s create a buzz in Katikati.
That’s the hope for our town, and Katikati Community Board wants to transform it into a destination town starting with a vibrant market square.
The board has been working on plans for The Market Square and the next step is to gather feedback from the community. It envisages the square to be a focal point for the town with markets and stalls galore, music, entertainment, with a view to cafes and restaurants popping up in the surrounding area.
Board chairman John Clements recently returned from Europe where he saw many dynamic market squares offering a wide range of entertainment, activities and shopping.
So plans have now been drawn up to turn the space between The Centre – Pātuki Manawa, Katikati War Memorial Hall, Poutama and the Westpac building into The Market Square.
“It is at the centre of everything. It is protected from the wind and gets the sun. We want to open it up, improve it and turn the area into something like the Matakana Market, or Auckland markets.
“By having this, we can attract more people into town to make a day of it. People can visit the square and check out the markets, visit a restaurant or cafe, stroll, shop in town, maybe catch a movie at The Arts Junction or whatever.
“It will bring people and revenue back into town. You’re going to get the foot traffic and we also see this as a start of building entrepreneurship in the town.”
John Clements can see much better use for this space.
The area would still be available for carparking during the week and transformed into the pedestrian-only area on weekends. Walkways will connect the area. The unused bus bay will be taken out, as well as kerbing. Carparks will not be lost, John says.
Original designs came in over budget and the board is now working on alternatives to keep costs down.
The board wants to hear from the community about these plans. It will have a stand this weekend at the Katikati Town and Country Market held at Katikati War Memorial hall, where plans will be on display.
Other points needing feedback include a proposed logo for the town. The logo-shield has four segments to represent local iwi, the Lady Jocelyn, the mural town and avocado capital. The piping around the edge reflects New Zealand, Māori and the Ulster Irish colours. The board would like to see signs welcoming visitors into the town.
It also has concept plans underway for Moore Park, Tahawai Reserve, Beach Rd boat ramp and The Landing.
John says Katikati has got to become a destination town.
“Let’s be honest — why would people travelling through stop here ... for toilets, petrol, functional stuff. Retail here has slimmed down. We’re very close to Tauranga so if we ever get the bypass, you’d have to have a reason for coming off the bypass.
“If we don’t change what we are doing, we’re just going to slide backwards.”
