Editorial: Exciting ideas merit support

Well done to The Guyton Group. It's not uncommon for people to come up with ideas on how to improve Wanganui - after all, that's the sign of a lively and vibrant city, one where residents are always seeking to improve their surrounds for the benefit of themselves and others.

But it takes a bit more effort and discipline to actually come up with a vision and follow through on it, as those behind The Guyton Group appear to have done.

The group presented a plan to Wanganui District Council's proposed transportation strategy hearing last week.

Ideas put forward under the plan for the future of the inner-city street include erecting a life-size bronze statue of the late Wanganui poet James K Baxter, a kite sculpture in a contemporary Maori design, lights strung up across the street, and pieces of poetry along the pavement or on lamp-posts.

What a fantastic idea.

What's exciting about this proposal is that the battle appears halfway won - there's already a clear vision and set of ideas around what the street could be, and significantly, a good proportion of the business community appear to be supporting the concept.

So often these sorts of plans die a slow and painful death, due to different factions emerging among the group of people driving the proposition, and the inability to settle on one fixed vision which has the support of those most likely to be affected by it.

This doesn't appear to be likely with The Guyton Group's proposal.

In particular, the James K Baxter statue is a superb idea, acknowledging one of the Wanganui district's more prominent residents of the past.

The statue has the potential to become the centrepiece of any sort of Guyton St redevelopment, and one only has to look at the attention the Riff Raff statue in Hamilton has attracted to see what could easily happen here.

The Guyton Group has not asked for financial support from the council, just permission to make their ideas a reality.

Later this month, they should get an idea of what council is thinking, and it can only be hoped that the response is positive.

Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz