Proposal for pop-up youth space in Whanganui met with scepticism

Whanganui District Council is looking at options for a youth space in the city. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council spent close to $40,000 on consultants to look at the needs of Whanganui youth but its major proposal has been largely rejected by the youth council and council staff and councillors.

In mid-2022, Impact Consulting conducted a feasibility study which ended up proposing a moveable popup youth space in a shipping container.

Youth Council projects support officer Stacy White told the council’s operations and performance committee the aim of the survey was to identify the “unique needs” of rangitahi (youth) in the Whanganui area.

However, Whanganui’s youth council wasn’t enthusiastic about the results and didn’t feel they represented where the members were at, White said.

The study says the space should be set up within a 40ft shipping container.

The benefits of this approach include the ability to test a range of locations, its low cost, and provide a space that is “vibrant, changing and engaging”.

Set-up costs are estimated at $165,000, with ongoing operational costs anticipated to be $135,000 per year.

Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay said there was some “really good content” in the survey but he had questions about how it got to the recommendation of a pop-up space.

“The idea that a permanent facility in the CBD could become dominated by one particular demographic or group of young people was one of the concerns raised (in the survey),” he said.

“I struggle to understand how a 40-foot shipping container would avoid that problem.”

Deputy mayor Helen Craig said every young person had different needs.

“We around this table believe our youth need more than this community is currently providing, and this report was supposed to eke that out,” she said.

“Of course, that’s very difficult when they have all those different needs. I’m not sure we’ve narrowed it down in this report.

“It feels like we’re still in a quagmire.”

Josh Chandulal-Mackay said the survey contains some really good content but he still had a lot of questions. Photo / Bevan Conley

White said a mobile container pop-up space in Palmerston North hadn’t been working and it was worth investigating why that was.

“If we ruled it out, I’m not sure what the game plan would be at that point,” she said.

“Just knowing that we’re making the right decision by not moving forward with this model, I think would be a great step.”

Council chief executive David Langford said the committee would look at the issue in more depth once it had a recommendation the council could endorse.

“Part of officers’ job is to scrutinise the work done on our behalf and make sure, as management, we also stand behind it,” he said.

“Just because a consultant said it, it doesn’t make it true.

“Take this as a progress update, rather than looking for a full and final decision on the matter.”

Councillor Jenny Duncan said it had been expressed by Whanganui rangitahi for “probably decades” that there were insufficient facilities for them.

“It’s going to cost, but everything costs. Our youth is an investment in our future and I think they are worth the investigation,” she said.

“We need to get on with it and get to some decisions, identify what we’re going to do, and make it happen.

“This has been going on for too long.”

According to a council report, the feasibility study indicated that a lack of entertainment and activities appeared to be an issue in Whanganui, but it wasn’t clear how the proposed solution addressed the issue.

More information was needed to justify the use of a shipping container and to gain clarity on why other models and options used across New Zealand were not feasible in Whanganui.

Location costs, accessibility, land impact, utility connection and disconnection, use of necessary facilities (including restrooms), weatherproofing, content stabilisation, and maintenance also needed more investigation.

White said she would be able to report back to the council soon, hopefully within the next two months.

“We do know this is a priority and we can start pulling together information.”

The cost of the survey, which was received by council officers in August 2022, was close to $40,000, with the majority of funds coming from the Youth Council budget ($25,000) and the council’s annual plan ($10,000).