Editorial: Peak plan well worth a rethink

Te Mata Peak is a popular tourist spot.

The first place I take visitors to Hawke's Bay is Te Mata Peak.

They are always impressed, but their experience could be even better with a proposed $4.3million visitor and education centre just inside the park gates.

Unfortunately the Te Mata Park Trust decided to can that idea after an independent review found the centre would be a "major financial liability" and presented significant risks in the long term. To date the trust has raised $3.3m for the project.

Fiscal prudence is always good and although no one wants a white elephant sitting at the base of Te Mata Peak, sometimes boldness is required to make things happen. Not all development is bad and this centre was always a winner.

Te Mata Peak is a star attraction and anything that can get people, especially tourists, to linger longer would only enhance its reputation and attract more people to visit it.

Sure, such a project would need to be financially viable, but there were always several ways to pay the ongoing costs.

The centre could have rented out space to adventure tour operators. A gold coin donation charged to school groups and tourists alike would have been an inoffensive revenue earner. A function room at the centre would also bring in money from weddings and events.

Dare I say it, but even the subsidy that Havelock North ratepayers pay for all and sundry to park free in the village could instead go to maintaining the visitor centre.

One just gets the sense that an opportunity has been lost to create something special without spoiling the natural beauty of Te Mata Peak.

Te Mata Park Trust and its local government partners need to have a rethink before abandoning this idea completely.