Tourist attraction given new hope

Staff reporter
DAIRYLAND, the tourist attraction at the south end of Hawera, looks likely to live again. The Dairyland redevelopment committee has presented its business plan to South Taranaki District Council, a council statement said.
Mayor Mary Bourke said councillors were impressed by the group's work and agreed to release the remaining $80,000 of a $100,000 grant provided for in the Ten Year Plan earlier this year.
Details of the business plan and costings were confidential, but Miss Bourke said the committee had shown that - with good management and experienced operators ? Dairyland would be viable even with conservative predictions of visitor numbers.
The Dairyland complex was opened by Kiwi Dairy Company in 1997 and closed by Fonterra in 2005, after a change in corporate focus. A project group was set up to investigate the business case for opening a redesigned complex as part of the region's tourist network.
The project will be managed by a group called The Real Energy Trust.
Miss Bourke said the $100,000 from the council was a one-off grant and the way was now clear for the trustees to seek further funding. If the money could be raised, it was hoped the redeveloped and re-branded complex could be open in about 12 months.