Town upgrade FORCES cafe to rethink
AWhitianga cafe is making the most of hard times by adding a food delivery service to its business. The French Fig cafe, on Albert St, has seen business drop since the ThamesCoromandel District Council began a $6.4 million town centre upgrade.
The street, between Monk St and Lee St, is the first phase of the town upgrade and has been closed to vehicle traffic since the start of April. The council aims to have completed the town centre upgrade by the end of 2019.
French Fig allrounder Chloe Reardon said the first weekend of the school holidays was frighteningly quiet so they started to think of ideas to bump up business during the upgrade given the impact it was having.
‘‘We have to be positive about [the town upgrade] and struggle through this rough bit.’’
They started the food delivery service in mid-April.
It was ‘‘a little bit later’’ than they would have liked but it was ‘‘better than nothing’’, she said.
‘‘It’s like a school lunch order, but for adults.’’
Reardon said they had been able to reach out to a new clientele through the service – including some of the staff working on the town upgrade.
Employee Casey Gabb said they were trying to be positive about the work and look past the impact on business.
The French Fig would be able to fit four more tables for customers outside when the work was finished as the footpath would be widened, Gabb said.
Employees from nine other businesses in the town centre were spoken to and shared similar stories of a drop in business due to the upgrade.
However, not all were able to directly relate it to the town upgrade, citing the winter months being much quieter than Summer anyway.
All 10 businesses said the noise was quite annoying, but nine said they were looking past that in favour how the town upgrade will improve the township.
Reardon said the team operating the town upgrade had been very good at communicating what was going on with the surrounding businesses.
Council communications group manager Laurna White said the council had not yet received any complaints about the works, but advised anyone who did have a complaint or were facing an issue with the upgrade to contact the council so it can be addressed appropriately.
Hauraki Herald
Stadium revamp badly needed
Matamata and Districts Cricket Association has put forward a plan to replace the ailing Headon Stadium at Pohlen Park.
The association said the stadium was widely considered ‘‘a joke’’ by visiting sports teams forced to use its dilapidated facilities.
It’s asking the Matamata-Piako District Council to consider spending the $1.5 million earmarked for repairs to the Headon, to instead go towards building a new indoor facility proposed by Matamata Futures.
The rest should go towards a new facility at Pohlen Park, which the cricket association had a plan for.
That’s the gist of the association’s submission to the council’s 10-year plan, which will be considered at a hearing on May 16.
Association president Cameron Bishop said cricketers loved Pohlen Park but other facilities there were lacking.
There were no umpire or practice facilities.
Visiting men’s cricket teams used the women’s toilets to change in, leaving no toilets for women to use.
Headon’s change rooms were too small and not appropriate for players to use.
‘‘You can hardly swing a cat, let alone a whole team, with all their cricket gear,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a joke.’’
Bishop said teams often commented on the poor quality of the stadium.
He said no matter how much money the council chucked at Headon Stadium, it would never be what’s expected today.
The council elected to keep the stadium and also support Matamata Future’s plan for a two-court indoor stadium.
It would give Matamata two indoor stadiums and open up opportunities for basketball and netball.
But Bishop said it would just duplicate facilities and leave out sports like cricket and football.
The cricket association’s plan for a new facility at Pohlen Park was designed by Auckland University architecture students.
It had a ground floor, two upper floors and covered roof terrace for spectators.
It provided private rooms and storage facilities. It included kitchen, first aid room, umpire change rooms, public toilets as well as men and womens toilets and change rooms.
Bishop said Pohlen Park hadthe potential to accommodate three cricket fields and two FIFA standard international soccer fields and junior fields.
Bishop did not think the project would be expensive but agreed it should not be funded by ratepayers.
The club wanted to partner with council and user groups on the project, taking on the maintenance and upkeep of the grounds and facility.
Matamata-Piako mayor Jan Barnes said some people had spoken to her, defending the stadium.
It had a lot of history. E.M. Headon donated $17,500 towards Headon Stadium in 1974, other contributions came from the public and a $10,000 grant from the Department of Internal Affairs.
She said many people still felt there is a lot of life left in it, but conceded it needed work.
Barnes felt asking the community to fundraise towards a new facility, plus the two-court stadium proposed by Matamata Futures was a big ask.
‘‘With where we are landing, we need to debate what can the ratepayer can afford. This is a debate for the community to have, if they want both of these buildings.’’
Matamata Chronicle
Thieves hit tornado homes
Tornado damaged houses in National Park have been targeted by thieves.
The town was hit by a tornado in April leaving 12 properties badly damaged.
Senior Constable Conrad Smith said they were making inquiries into two break-ins.
On April 26 police received a report from the owner of a home on Carroll Street saying that items had been stolen from a house that had been red stickered.
‘‘It appears offenders have returned to the house more than once and taken a number of items from the property.’’
Then on April 30, around 7pm, another home owner told police they’d disturbed two people inside their damaged home, also on Carroll Street. The pair fled the scene in a vehicle. Nothing was taken.
‘‘We are aware of the concerns from property owners and want people to know we recognise the invasive, personal nature of burglary and theft for its victims, and
Cameron Bishop
are taking this issue seriously,’’ Smith said.
‘‘We have increased patrols in the area and have also been talking to locals and encouraging people to keep an eye on each other’s properties.’’
Councillor Murray Wilson said it was unusual to have crime in National Park but when they did, it was from people outside the village.
‘‘It’s tempting. The question for me is how long will it take to fix those houses?
‘‘Presumably we’ll get a report from council at some stage and hopefully there will be a brief on what happened on the day.
‘‘Hopefully people can get sorted soon.’’ Ruapehu District Council communications manager Paul Wheatcroft said notices have been uplifted on two houses where remedial work was underway.
Ruapehu Press