20,000 more sleeps, please
Porirua is ‘‘under capacity’’ to cash in on 20,000 nights of visitor accommodation expected from a $21 million Adventure Park.
While the Canada-based company driving the proposal, Select Contracts, has begun applying for resource consent to build the park on Rangituhi, or Colonial Knob, the city council has met with business leaders and the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency to find ways to cash in on potentially an extra 100,000 annual visitors.
The park, aimed at being built by 2019 at no cost to Porirua ratepayers, is expected to attract walkers and mountain bikers with mountain trails, cafes, a chairlift, and an indoor surf simulator.
Porirua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Nick Leggett said the city was ‘‘under capacity’’ in terms of its accommodation offerings.
‘‘Te Rauparaha Arena [opened 2008] increased demand here but we need to build a much better case for investment in this area.
‘‘The Adventure Park will hopefully justify more accommodation and mean better business for those already operating.’’
Chamber members had been considering opportunities to get new business into Porirua, along with supporting plans to develop existing providers.
‘‘The motor home industry should also be looking our way for expanding existing sites and creating new ones.
‘‘Even though we have had sig- nificant growth at Ulric Street and Camp Elsdon, this overnight market will probably grow significantly as well as a result of the adventure park.’’
The council’s city growth manager Darryn Grant said the park was an ‘‘excellent opportunity’’ to provide more bed nights for existing Porirua accommodation providers, as well as attracting new ones to the city.
There were 69,599 guest nights in Porirua in 2016 which was a 6.5 per cent increase from 2015.
‘‘We see it as one of the many significant business and recreational opportunities that the Porirua Adventure Park presents and we have been working with Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency and other regional partners to ensure we can maximise them.’’
Select Contracts NZ and Aust- ralia regional director Darron Charity said the park would be a regional asset, and potentially 20,000 extra nights of accommodation could be spread around the region.
‘‘Whether they stay in Wellington or up the road’’.
The company has just started the process of applying for resource consent from the council, which could take several months.