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The change in government has stalled proposals to attract a major chain to build a new hotel and conference centre in Warkworth, a Rodney Local Board workshop heard on December 6.
Members were told that the development of a branded hotel with up to 160 rooms and a conference and function centre was a priority in the Matakana Coast Destination Management Plan, a project spearheaded by Auckland Council’s economic development arm, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited.
Destination and sustainability manager Karen Thompson-Smith, who is a former manager of Matakana Coast Tourism, said international visitors to the area were increasing and alternative accommodation offerings were needed.
“We’re looking for a 100-160 room hotel in Warkworth, such as Sudima, which has just opened in Kaikoura,” she said. “That’s the kind of style we’d love to see in Warkworth, with a conference centre, and no restaurant attached. It would benefit businesses in the area and would assist with the seasonality issue – conferences would come in the shoulder season.”
Thompson-Smith said she had been hoping to get $50,000 funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, to draw up a business plan for potential investors.
“But that funding is stalled at the moment and we just don’t know, with the new government, if we can unlock it. We’re working to see if we can do that,” she said.
“Investors are now looking for new areas and the numbers stack up. With the growth in air travel, New Zealand is still very high on the destination map, but we need $50,000 to support a business case.”
Thompson-Smith added that there was currently huge interest from the US, led by Te Arai golf links, and also increasing enquiries from the east coast of Australia from people wanting to come out of Auckland city and up into the region.
The Destination Management Plan was drawn up as a strategy to market the wider Mahurangi area to tourists, while balancing this with the aspirations of the people
who live in the area.
Board member Ivan Wagstaff said the growth in local population combined with severe weather events presented an issue that the plan needed to address.
“By attracting that many people, there are significant pinch points up here,” he said. “Lots of people were stuck during the floods, and water and food will become an issue if the main road to Auckland or the Dome Valley is blocked.
“The existing transport infrastructure is not up to taking that. There’s a significant risk to people.”
Thompson-Smith said that while roading was covered in the plan, that particular aspect had not been addressed, though she stressed that the plan was a living document that was constantly being revisited.
“Destination Management Plans are driven by residents, making sure communities are on board,” she said. “One of the reasons Matakana Coast Tourism pushed to have this was because they didn’t want to see what happened in Waiheke happening here.”
The plan features a long list of recommendations, though many are long term prospects dependent on funding capability and prioritisation.
