Caterers eye reserve land for new wedding venue
The old cafe in the Ashhurst Domain could live again as a wedding and events venue.
Palmerston North business owners Kelly and Toni Melody want to put up a semi-permanent marquee outside the old jockey rooms, where several cafe ventures have been attempted.
Kelly Melody said there was a lack of wedding venues in Manawatu¯ where couples could arrange their own celebrations.
She said in her experience as a caterer, 70 per cent of her wedding clients were based in Manawatu¯ , but only 30 per cent ended up having their events in the district.
She said the site of the former Wetlands cafe could provide an attractive setting. It would also revitalise an under-used reserve.
There was a lot of red tape to negotiate, which was why Melody put the proposal to city councillors at a sport and recreation committee meeting yesterday before embarking on processes that could be doomed to fail if councillors opposed leasing the land for the venture.
One of the stumbling blocks was that the reserve’s management plan did not envisage an events centre being based there.
Also, a noise assessment came to the conclusion there would be no way to ensure campers at the domain were not disturbed.
Although some councillors were apprehensive about the effects of commercial activity on the natural environment and on other domain users, they voted unanimously in favour of further assessments going ahead.
Cr Rachel Bowen said she was particularly interested in the opportunity to retain more business in the district.
Council parks and reserves manager Kathy Dever-todd said there would have to be engagement with Rangita¯ne about the proposal, community consultation, and a call for formal public submissions if the council proposed to lease the site.
There would also be a resource management consent process to work through.
After the meeting, Melody said it was encouraging most councillors were positive about the proposal. She believed the events centre, which would be available for community groups between wedding bookings, had more prospect of success than previous cafes, which had depended on erratic flows of casual visitors.