25 March 2019

A gondola ride, zipline, wave simulator, cafés, walking and cycling tracks are all part of what’s proposed for the Porirua Adventure Park at Spicer Botanical Park/Te Rāhui o Rangituhi.

Darryn Grant, Manager City Growth and Strategic Property, says before construction can begin the developers – Porirua Adventure Park Ltd Partnership – need to acquire various permissions to use the land for this purpose.

“The developers are nearing the end of the resource consent process which is a requirement under the Resource Management Act. They also need permission to lease land at Spicer Botanical Park from Porirua City Council under the Local Government Act process. Because this is public land, we will be consulting with our community on their views on the Adventure Park as a whole.”

“For example, there may be questions about the impact of development on Spicer Botanical Park and what the perceived benefits of the Adventure Park are.

“We’ll be starting with an early engagement period in April. This is a chance for people to find out more and ask questions ahead of the formal consultation period that's expected to start in May, subject to the resource consent process being completed,” Mr Grant says.

Plans show that the proposed areas of development are expected to impact access to a small portion of Spicer Botanical Park. The Adventure Park will be freely accessible to everyone with the option to pay to use the new facilities.

An independent MartinJenkins Economic Impact Assessment shows that once the park is operational it’s expected to contribute $9.6 million to the Porirua economy, with 147 local jobs and an estimated 80,000+ visitors per year. The Council is aiming to make a decision on the lease by the end of June 2019.

People wanting more information can visit the Council’s website, attend drop in sessions in April or emailAdventure.park@poriruacity.govt.nz.

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