Shane Jones encourages Whangārei hotel developers to apply for taxpayer funding

An artist's impression of the planned $200m-plus hotel, entertainment centre and apartments on Riverside Dr. Photo / Supplied

Government Minister Shane Jones is encouraging a group of Northland developers planning to build a $200 million hotel and entertainment centre in Whangārei to apply for funding from the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund.

The Regional Development Minister and Northland list MP said the major development on Riverside Dr was overdue and that it should be beneficial to not just Whangārei but Northland as a whole in a number of ways, including job creation.

Northland Development Corporation (NDC) is planning a $200m-plus four-star, 130-room hotel, entertainment centre and apartments on a site in Riverside Dr, and talks are already under way with investors.

NDC spokesmen Barry Trass and Ben Tomason said there had been an influx of interested parties that wanted to get involved since the Northern Advocate revealed the plan last weekend but that they needed time to look at all the different funding options.

"We'll need funding for the whole development but each part of the development will need different types of funding or pitched in a different way,'' they said.

"We need investors who will invest in the land and buildings. We've got interested parties that will do that. One option is a bunch of local investors get together and we potentially could be part of that if we want to be."

They said public feedback towards the project had been "fantastic" and Trass said two men even offered him a deposit this week for apartments planned for the development.

Two weeks ago, Jones announced the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) would invest $60,000 towards the development of Otago's Economic Development Strategy and a further $820,000 in the Dunedin Waterfront Project.

Dunedin City Council will receive $820,000 to complete a full feasibility assessment and development of a business case for the project, which will include engineering, environmental and commercial feasibility.

Jones said the funding in Otago has set a precedent for the likes of NDC to do likewise, although there was obviously a criteria to follow.

"The PGF has scope for working with the regions and a feasibility study is often the first port of call if they want to seek input from the Crown. I'd encourage them to submit an application."

He said his ministry has a broad mission that included wealth creation and job growth in regions, particularly in large-scale projects like the size planned by NDC.

The Whangārei District Council said since it has not received a resource consent application on the proposed Riverside Dr development yet, it could not comment on the project's impact on existing infrastructure.

Any application would be a very comprehensive document that would include a wide range of technical reports commissioned by and paid for by the developer, including assessment of the development's impact on traffic and infrastructure, spokeswoman Ann Midson said.

"Council's policy is that a developer pays the costs of the impact of the development on public infrastructure."