Information centre cuts a track
Feilding’s information centre will move operations from Manchester Square to the town’s railway station.
Feilding and District Promotion chairman Jason Smith announced the move on Wednesday after signing the fiveyear lease with building owner KiwiRail.
The Aorangi St building has been unoccupied since July when the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society was forced to move after KiwiRail tripled the rent.
Smith said the relocation, targeted for May 1, would get more out-of-towners through the door.
‘‘The main reason for us is location, location, location,’’ Smith said.
‘‘We thought the train station was a really iconic building and that it is the best place to promote the town. You can’t miss it.
‘‘We felt where the info centre is now was a bit isolated. We don’t actually get a lot of foot traffic off the street where we are in Manchester Square.’’
Smith said statistics from the Central Economic Development Agency showed only 30 per cent of visitors to the centre were from out of Manawatu.
‘‘We want to turn that around,’’ Smith said. ‘‘The sheer presence of vehicles using the main highway and travelling through that thoroughfare is huge and we’ve been missing them where we are.
‘‘To travelling people the info centre is quite hard to find. In terms of positioning of an information centre it’s probably the best place we we’re going to find.’’
A significant increase in parking space also influenced the decision, he said.
Feilding and District Steam Rail Society president Rod Bertram said there was a possibility they could resume using the station as a ticketing booth.
‘‘Feilding and District Promotion already act as a ticketing agent for us, so it can only be good for us,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ll wait to see if there will be any changes to the internal layout of the station and then we’ll enter into conversations with them about potentially being able to use it again.’’
The rent for the centre and its costs are funded by CEDA.
‘‘I didn’t know what the rate was [in July], but the rate we have negotiated is reasonable,’’ Smith said. ‘‘It’s a very favourable deal. From our research it is a market rent.’’
Up to five staff will be making the transition to the new building.