Hokianga tourism venture a 'total nightmare' for community

A concept drawing of the Manea - Footprints of Kupe cultural heritage centre planned for Opononi.

Locals fear a tourism venture proposed for the Hokianga will be a "total nightmare" for the small community.

Building work on the Manea Heritage Centre — the Footprints of Kupe in Opononi is expected to start in the next month or two, after the project was backed by Government funding.

The concept has been a vision of Te Hua o Te Kawariki Trust — a combination of the four marae of the area — since 2003.

Opononi is a small community, locals say.

After receiving $4.6 million from the Provincial Growth Fund in February, the trust has nearly raised all of the money needed, said development manager Wayne Hutchinson.

A non-notified resource consent had been granted and building consent was about to be applied for, he said.

But local residents still had concerns about what the cultural centre and associated commercial hub would contain, how it would operate and how it would look.

There was standing room only at a community meeting about the proposal last week, said one Opononi resident, Raeone Dellaca.

"Many, many questions are still unanswered."

The centre will have up to 600 traffic movements a day and employ 15 full-time staff, as well as up to 20 volunteers. But it is short at least 20 car parks and has not made provision for the impact it will have on the community, Ms Dellaca said.

"It's a total nightmare."

The proposal makes use of the car parking at Opononi's i-Site, parking that is also shared by customers for the Four Square, Post Shop and cafe. Tourists would then walk 200 metres down to the cultural centre site.

The shops and i-Site where the vital heart of the community, Ms Dellaca said.

"In summer, it's very difficult to find a park as things are at the moment."

Ms Dellaca said she was concerned about the impact of the project on the town's water and sewerage, especially as water restrictions were imposed each summer.

She agreed jobs were needed for young people in the area but said 15 jobs for a $6.5 million investment was not a good return.

Ms Dellaca also worried about what businesses would run in the commercial hub, as it had not been announced yet. She wondered how the Far North District Council could approve the resource consent with such scant details.

But Wayne Hutchinson said the trust was listening to the community's concerns and would review its parking provisions.

"There is always a shortage of car parking at Opononi," he said.

The centre is not expected to attract more people to Hokianga, but give those people who visited something unique to do.

The centre would tell the story of Kupe and the stories of Ngapuhi, as passed down to 32 generations, he said. Visitors would be taught about Maori gods, Maori navigation would be traditionally welcomed onto a marae and told the story of Kupe with immersive theatre, Mr Hutchinson said.

"It's a history that hasn't been told through a very Maori perspective before. It is a Maori perspective told by the locals here."

Environmentally, the centre would connect to the council's sewerage system, which was currently running under-capacity, Mr Hutchinson said. It would also connect to town water, but would have enough rainwater tanks to provide water over the summer drought period.

While the project would provide 15 jobs directly, there would also be many indirect benefits, he said.

Further details about the commercial hub would also be announced shortly, Mr Hutchinson said.