Waipā District Council seeking more input on Kihikihi Village concerns

Kihikihi War Memorial Hall, which includes the clock that was previously part of Te Awamutu Post Office. Photo / Dean Taylor

Waipā District Council's draft Kihikihi Urban Development Plan is still open for consultation.

The council is seeking feedback on priority projects for the community after councillors voted unanimously at a Strategic Planning and Policy Committee meeting to bring the draft urban development plan to residents, to help ensure projects are put forward for the 2024-34 Long Term Plan.

It was criticised during this year's 2021-31 Long Term Plan (LTP) consultation for the lack of projects for Kihikihi.

Strategy manager, Kirsty Downey said the draft urban development plan addressed concerns raised during the LTP consultation.

"We heard from the Kihikihi Resident & Ratepayers Association about key concerns including heavy traffic speeds, improving parking around the school, creating safe connecting pathways, playgrounds and improvements at Kihikihi Domain," Downey said.

"I trust that the community will be pleased to see these are included in the urban development plan, so it will now be a matter of prioritising these so we can allocate budgets and get some of these under way."

The draft urban development plan includes key topics such as open spaces, movement, recreation and play, Village Centre, and recommends improvements at a number of neighbourhood reserves, including Turata, recently corrected after a historic spelling error named it Rata-Tu for decades.

The draft plan was initially planned to be brought to the committee for adoption last year so projects could be included in this year's Long Term Plan for budgeting but was delayed by Covid-19 and to seek further input from mana whenua.

With feedback from mana whenua included, the plan will now be presented to the community for prioritisation.

Feedback from the community in 2017 indicated a strong appetite to share the town's Māori and European history through the Waikato Wars and the New Zealand Land Wars. Two significant battles occurred nearby in Rangiaowhia and Ōrākau in 1864, which decimated the community and dramatically changed the village's landscape.

One prominent feature in the village's landscape - the Kihikihi Domain - which regularly hosts international events, was also highlighted as an opportunity for improvement by residents.

Sharing the village's history and putting together a cohesive plan for the Domain's future are both included in the draft plan.

"It's important that the plan reflects the wants and needs of the whole community, so we would love to see as many residents give their feedback as possible."

A project to restart the Kihikihi Town Clock, which has been a bug-bear for the community for a number of years, is now proposed to receive a $70,500 kickstart in year one of the 2021-31 Long Term Plan.