i-Site debacle raising hackles

Assurances from Mayor John Carter that a place will be found for the North Hokianga i-Site at Opononi have not placated the locals, who are due to share their views with him on-site this afternoon.

The combined i-Site/Hokianga Economic Development Centre opened in March 2010, at a cost to ratepayers of $354,000. It was initially shared by the i-Site, a council service centre, Te Roroa, Footprints Waipoua and Hokianga Art Gallery.

Designed as a one-stop shop for information, services and crafts, it was touted as part of a plan to lift Hokianga's economy. It was built as a public-private partnership, the council paying for the building and the Lloyd Family Trust providing the land.

As from March 31, however, the building will be leased for six years, with two six-year rights of renewal, to the operator of the Opononi Four Square store that was destroyed by fire in June last year. Following the blaze the council allowed Paresh Patel to set up shop in the i-Site building so essential services such as mail and groceries could be retained at Opononi, but what was supposed to be temporary is on the verge of becoming permanent.

Rebuilding of the store has begun, but it is understood that the building's owner planned to increase the rent, Mr Patel subsequently asking the council if he could stay in the i-Site building. A long-term lease was agreed at the council's November meeting.

The i-Site will move out at the end of March, with no plans yet for a replacement, although Mr Carter has assured locals that the council will find a solution, and there is still plenty of space left on the Opononi site.

Peter Oldham, one of many residents who are concerned by the lack of consultation or warning about the decision to close the i-Site and lease the building to a private business, said that plan would also give the Opononi Four Square, with its bigger premises, plentiful parking and relatively low rent, a huge advantage over the store at Omapere.

Sue Jackson, owner of the Globetrekkers Lodge in Omapere, said squeezing the i-Site into a corner of the temporary Four Square had confused tourists and contributed to a drop in bookings. The decision to move the i-Site out long-term was made without talking to tourism operators or local residents.

"We pay our rates, then we get treated like this. It's a fait accompli," she said.

She was also concerned that the rebuilt shop could end up empty because Omapere and Opononi, with a combined winter population of fewer than 500, could not support three grocery stores.

Jackie Walker, also of Omapere, likened the "aesthetically incongruous" decision to turning Kaitaia's Te Ahu Centre into a Pak'nSave.

An initial plan to temporarily house the Four Square in the South Hokianga Memorial Hall was turned down by the hall committee, while the old old i-Site and museum building was demolished in 2010 when it was undermined by erosion.