Te Uruhi project gets stay of execution

Artist's impression of Te Uruhi centre proposed for Paraparaumu Beach.

A move to scrap the controversial Te Uruhi project at Paraparaumu Beach hasn’t gained enough traction among Kāpiti’s newly elected council.

Te Uruhi, previously known as the Kāpiti Gateway, aims to build a vistor centre in Maclean Park that would tell the district’s rich history as well as be a biosecurity hub for people going to Kāpiti Island.

Leading the charge to ditch the project was first-time councillor Liz Koh.

She said there had been a considerable public backlash against the council over the project, little public support, the business case wasn’t convincing. She also pointed to huge cost overruns, from $4.5m to $7.5m.

Her motion requested the council rescind and revoke resolutions and amendments about the project, and that chief executive Darren Edwards withdraw all resource consent applications and instruct staff and contractors to stop all work on the project.

Her motion was signed by Martin Halliday, Glen Cooper, Nigel Wilson and Jocelyn Prvanov.

But deputy mayor Lawrence Kirby asked that the project “stand on the table”, with staff requested to provide an up-to-date progress report on the project at a future meeting.

There was a 6-5 vote in favour of Kirby’s motion thus gazumping Koh’s motion.

Backing Kirby’s motion was mayor Janet Holborow, Kathy Spiers, Sophie Handford, Shelley Warwick and Rob Kofoed. Against were Koh, Halliday, Prvanov, Cooper and Wilson.

“I don’t think we have up-to-date information and we have not sat with mana whenua, in their spaces, to talk about this project and to understand it,” Kirby said.

“This is a new council and we want to start off following a good process around our decision-making and I think at this stage we don’t have the most appropriate information that we need, and conversations, to make an informed and good governance decision on [Koh’s] motion.”

Te Uruhi would be a visitor centre and biosecurity hub.

Koh said her motion was “on behalf of the community”.

“What we have in front of us is a project that is symbolic of a council that doesn’t listen to its community and can’t be trusted, which is an unfortunate situation to be in.”

She said the project had been rushed to get money from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) but “we were caught short because we hadn’t done our homework”.

“The process was flawed from the start.

“It’s clear we don’t have widespread community support and are in breach of the requirements of the PGF, we don’t have a shovel-ready project, and are yet to get a resource consent, and it’s highly likely it will be appealed and there will be a 12 to 18-month delay.

“We have got past the point of doing more research on this project.

“We don’t need more reports and delays.

“The information, the costs, the assumptions, everything is changing on a daily basis.

“At some point we have to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.

“Every day of delay is another day of more money down the drain.”

Cooper said he had a two-tier test for all his decision-making.

“Does it make financial sense in terms of impact on rates or does it have overwhelming support?

“The project fails on both these tests.”

In public speaking time former councillor Gwynn Compton urged the council to ditch the project.

“The process behind it [Te Uruhi] has been abysmal.”