Car park beautification earns Paihia shot at national award

Focus Paihia is in the running for another award for the transformation of a parking area into this waterfront park called Horotutu. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF

Focus Paihia will find out tonight if the group can add yet another national award to its trophy collection.

The volunteer-run trust will represent the Far North at the Trustpower National Community Awards which will be decided in Wellington this weekend.

Focus Paihia won the Far North award last year and will now compete against 23 other finalists from around the country for the national title.

Just last month the group's beautification and revitalisation efforts were instrumental in the town being named Community of the Year in the 2015 New Zealander of the Year awards.

Trustpower's Jess Somerville said Focus Paihia was an "exceptional example of a community taking ownership of their town".

Ms Somerville said the Horotutu project - in which volunteers turned an unsightly car park into a heavily used public space - was "amazing", but what inspired her most was the diversity of plans chosen for Horotutu.

"That such a small town can yield such creative, beautiful ideas is amazing. Instead of a dusty old car park, Paihia now has an attractive seaside park with a public piano, green space and many more projects on the way. It's something locals, and especially those who pitched in by providing helping hands, cheap labour or materials and planning skills, can all be proud of," she said.

Much of the money required for the transformation came from Focus Paihia's op shop.

The winners will be named at Victoria University's Memorial Lecture Theatre tonight followed by an awards dinner at Te Papa. Presenting Focus Paihia's entry will be Sarah Greener and Grant Harnish along with Deputy Mayor Tania McInnes.