All go for the pou

NEW LOOK: An artist's impression of what the new Masterton District Council pou signage welcoming motorists to Masterton will look like.IMAGES/SUPPLIED

New hotly debated welcome signs at the southern entrance to Masterton are going and will be replaced with three pou sporting symbols representing the best the town has to offer.

The large green sign caused much controversy when it was erected recently, many calling for it to be taken down.

The Masterton District Council always said the signage was temporary while approval was being sought for the new, modern pou to be placed at the two main entrances to the town.

After two years of work, on Friday, the Masterton pou project was officially given the green light, having cleared its last hurdle.

New poles bearing symbols will be installed in the next few weeks and the old signs removed now the council has received sign-off from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for three new pou to be erected at the north and south entrances to Masterton, Mayor Lyn Patterson said.

The 10-metre-high timber poles will feature rusted steel symbols selected in a community consultation process involving public and stakeholder meetings, media advertising, specific Facebook and Twitter accounts and suggestion boxes.

The original idea came from a major signage study conducted by Craig Turvey of 3D Creative, who produced an in-depth report on the best way to represent Masterton to visitors and residents.

The council resolved to proceed with the installation in May 2013, Mrs Patterson said, and since then staff had been working to turn the concept into reality, overcoming logistical and technical obstacles along the way.

"There was a great sense of relief from all concerned when the news came through on Friday that we had permission from NZTA to go ahead," she said.

"It's one thing to commit to a project and quite another to turn that into reality."

A lot of work had gone into planning the design and placing of the pou, she said.

"Since the council resolution last year, we have been working to identify suitable locations for the pou and our engineers have sourced competitive quotes for the treated timber poles and their rusted steel icons, once their optimum size and thickness had been established.

"We have also taken steps to ensure that the pou are vandalproof, which was one of the issues raised through our consultation process."

It had also worked out to be less expensive than planned and would be attractive, the mayor said.

"Despite the time delay and additional work involved, the project is expected to come in well under the budget allocated by council. We have also reached agreement with Greater Wellington Regional Council to reduce the height of the vegetation at the southern entrance to the town, in order for the pou to be clearly visible against an uncluttered background."

Council representatives will meet iwi representatives tomorrow to finalise arrangements for the blessing and unveiling of the pou, "with one suggestion being a dawn ceremony involving leaders from all aspects of our community", Mrs Patterson said.

"The cultural significance of these new landmarks is extremely important to us and the pou will include the logos of both Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Rangitane o Wairarapa.

"We are also very keen to involve our young people, who have made a major contribution to the choice of the symbols we will be incorporating. The Youth Council was involved from the start in our consultation process and they will play a key role in the unveiling ceremony," she said.

"The symbols which the community have chosen represent all that is good about the Masterton district and we have utilised the services of a graphic artist to produce an indicative representation of how they will look."

A full description of each symbol will appear in the Wairarapa Times-Age on Saturday July 12 and Wairarapa Midweek on Tuesday July 15.