Call for ideas on how to spruce up Wairoa's 'tired' town centre

With shops lining one side and the Wairoa River flowing past on the other, the Wairoa CBD has all the makings of a lively town centre. Photo / File

The call has been put out to Wairoa residents to share ideas on how their "tired" CBD can be made more lively.

The main waterfront strip has all the foundations of a pleasant CBD but the council has been told by locals that the "drab-looking" town centre needs a spruce-up.

The council has said it has received feedback over the years about closed shops, safety and security, and the need to attract more diverse businesses into the CBD.

Wairoa mayor Craig Little said this was just the start of council work to enhance the waterfront town centre.

"The CBD's looking very tired and it just needs something done on it. It just needs an upgrade, it's as simple as that. It's past its use-by date," he said.

"We're well aware of the capability of moving forward and doing something about it now."

Mr Little said the council had received a lot of feedback over the years, which meant it could hit the ground running with some "big ideas".

"A lot of that feedback won't be ignored, it will be taken into account as well. This is just the start, then we're making a bit of a stakeholders' committee and then it gives us an idea what we want to do."

This comes as a new addition to the Wairoa CBD, the Long River Gallery, faces closure after being open only 18 months because of several issues including not enough sales during quieter periods.

Operated by the Long River Gallery Trust, it was proposed the trust be put into recess at the end of this month. This means it could be reactivated for a similar venture in future.

The council has set up a link for residents to provide feedback on how the town centre can be enhanced. There are also displays at the council's Queen St office, the Wairoa library, the Wairoa i-Site and Osler's Bakery, where feedback can be left.

-Leave your feedback at napier.wufoo.eu/forms/wspwsdv09kxbcw/