Where do you go on a rainy day with busy kids? The library. Where do you have a birthday party in the middle of winter? The National Aquarium. How do you entertain a bunch of rowdy teens? Par 2 Mini Golf. Our city is full of top facilities that are loved by locals and help make Napier an attractive visitor destination.
Napier City Council cares for 14 facilities, including Kennedy Park Resort, MTG Hawke’s Bay, Ocean Spa, Faraday Museum of Technology and Bay Skate.
Those facilities are major drawcards for tourists, who tell us they are holiday highlights. Some of our other facilities, like the library or the Napier Aquatic Centre, are essential in the daily lives of our locals.
The National Aquarium of New Zealand. Photo / Warren Buckland
Our facilities are really important for community wellbeing. They provide places for social connection, fitness and recreation, inspiration and collaboration, and support people who are studying, raising kids and ageing gracefully.
More and more, a good life needs places that are neither work nor home but somewhere in between. These are spaces where people can meet and work together, explore a hobby or pastime, and learn and share new skills – places you can take kids on a rainy day.
We have been looking hard at how to ensure the future of our facilities. Some are costly to run, some need essential remediation work, and some aren’t quite fit for purpose and need an upgrade.
All our facilities have potential and are valuable parts of our social fabric. Some of them also have the ability to stand on their own feet financially and have a more commercial outlook in the future.
We are looking closely at our facilities, not just at what they offer but, in some cases, how they pay for themselves.
As much as I encourage you to use our facilities – whether it’s the pools, the theatres, the libraries or the museums – I also encourage you to look out for opportunities to give us your thoughts on their future.
It’s really important we hear from the community on their views and priorities as we work through plans for our facilities.
Council facilities are, by their very nature, community facilities. They belong to the community, and whatever future plans are planned for them need to be done in collaboration with our community.
