Figures released to the Hauraki Coromandel Post show combined paid parking revenue at two locations, one on Pye Pl and the other on Hot Water Beach Rd, of $1,479,549 between 2013 and 2024.
Mayor Len Salt has been contacted for comment, while a Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) spokesman confirmed revenue from the parking charges contributed to maintaining and improving the car parking facilities and other tourism-related infrastructure in the vicinity, such as toilets, as well as the repayment of loans taken out for capital works related to tourism infrastructure in the area.
The figure comes at the same time the council was defending new user pays charges for parking and use of the boat ramp at the $15 million Kopu Business and Marine Precinct, officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Resources Minister Shane Jones last month.
In a statement, the council confirmed it had explored adopting parking charges in town centres across the district but views for and against were mixed, “and in the end, this idea was not further pursued”.
“Over the past six or more years, we have investigated a number of potential new visitor charges, including a levy on online accommodation providers and a bach tax,” the spokesman said.
“These proposals weren’t viable, so they weren’t progressed; other options, such as a road tax or toll for people travelling into the district are also not possible as our council has no authority to introduce such charges.
“In November 2020, as part of our pre-engagement for the 2021-2031 long-term plan, we asked for feedback about charging for car parking in town centres; views for and against were mixed and in the end, this idea was not further pursued.”
However, the council “did hear loud and clear that ratepayers should not be subsidising the development and maintenance of facilities like boat ramps when their users can be identified”.
“Taking this ‘user pays’ approach means that users contribute directly towards the development and maintenance of infrastructure they use.”
Hot Water Beach pay and display parking.
A breakdown of the figures showed paid parking at Pye Pl attracted $169,277.61 revenue in 2023/24 while $41,284.78 was received at the Hot Water Beach carpark during the same period.
“Historically, our council has looked at a variety of revenue sources other than rates, in order to lessen the impact of increasing costs to provide some of the facilities and services that we are required to by government mandates, to meet the demands of our residents and ratepayers and to provide visitor facilities,” the spokesman said.
“Political cycles come and go at both the national and local levels, the availability of government grants such as those that part-funded the Kopu Marine Precinct changes and our council’s appetite to charge user fees changes too, as does community interest in levying such charges.
It was also confirmed the council used to manage the parking at Grange Rd in Hahei, near the closed Cathedral Cove, another tourist hotspot, but the Department of Conservation (DoC) was now managing it. DoC has said the carpark is currently closed, pending repairs.
Figures showed the council collected $285,629 in parking revenue from the Grange Rd site between 2018 and 2023.
Parking fees at the tourist hotspot.
Paid parking at Hahei was adopted in 2018.
A 2013 report to the Mercury Bay Community Board, outlining the adoption of paid parking at Hot Water Beach, showed other funding options were impractical or potentially unaffordable while recent government directions indicated that the use of development contributions as a funding source was likely to be restricted in the future.
The objective of the pay and display system was to generate alternative income for the construction and maintenance of council infrastructure that was impacted by tourism, within the Mercury Bay area.
“This would have to be done through an annual plan or long-term plan process following community engagement.”
In June, the council submitted on the government’s proposed changes to the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, calling for a maximum $100 fee for international visitors.
It argued the levy should be raised as the Coromandel had high visitation with a low ratepayer base, and that it needed more support to build and maintain tourism infrastructure such as toilets, campervan dump stations, and parking areas without a significant ratepayer burden.
In recent times, the district had suffered impacts from Covid-19 and severe weather events. Cyclone Gabrielle resulted in the closure of Cathedral Cove beach access, which was still waiting to be reinstated, the council said in its submission.
Other tracks and trails were also damaged, while critical roading links across the Coromandel, including SH25A, were closed for many months.
Tourism supported one in five jobs in the district, and 10% or $175 million of local annual GDP.
“These more regular extreme weather events and the resulting decline in tourism activity continue to have a significant economic and social impact on our district.
“With the oldest average population in the country, a low ratepayer base, many on fixed incomes, and the fact that our tourism products are mostly nature-based and free, we feel the very real pressures of sustainable tourism in both peaks and troughs.
“If applied well, funds received from the International Visitor Levy are a means to support communities like ours to provide high-quality experiences for international visitors, to build and maintain supporting tourism infrastructure without significant taxpayer or ratepayer burden, and to effectively manage the environmental impacts of tourism, particularly as we all grapple with climate change.”
