MANDY SMITH
Waipawa needs to embrace new ideas and revamp itself if the town is to become more than just a pit stop between Napier and Hastings. That's the advice from the man who transformed Greytown.
Architect Max Edridge says he often drives past Waipawa but doesn't stop because it "just doesn't look inviting. It feels like it's got its back to the highway.
"I love the way its built into the hills and trees but it doesn't invite you into the community," he told a meeting in Waipawa last night.
Greytown, Wairarapa's wealthiest and most fashionable town, had the same problem before the Greytown Village Enhancement Group began lobbying for change in the early 1990s, he said at the meeting, organised by the 2010 committee.
It took the the Greytown group several years to win over opponents of its ambitious $1.9 million redevelopment plan, which included underground power, restoring the town hall, creating a "people place" in the town centre and tree-planting.
"When we first took the idea to a town meeting it was absolutely rubbished," he said.
"We were seen as the new boys in town, even though one of the committee had been there for 20 years."
The council had the same suspicions.
"Initially, they weren't active," Mr Edridge said.. "They got on board with the scheme eventually, but all the pushing was from us."
He said Waipawa, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2010, had the same great "bones" as Greytown. Its people needed to develop an adventurous vision, and welcome the input of the town's newer residents.
"Often, there's a degree of mistrust about what new people want - not what they can give," Mr Edridge said. " Many people are resistant to change but there's only two ways for a town to go - up or down, and Waipawa will go up." The council also needed to get on board, protecting the town's heritage buildings and ensuring alterations were in character.
"[But] you can't retain everything just because it's old or you'll have a museum town," he said.
Mr Edridge advised the group to identify areas for improvement, consult old and new residents, keep the community informed "and be patient, because change won't come fast".
Mayor Tim Gilberston said a fulltime co-ordinator for the redevelopment project would cost Central Hawke's Bay District Council between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. However, if it attracted new business and investment, it would be worth it.
"Max showed us that with enthusiasm, a bit of common sense and the right people, you can transform an ordinary town into something quite spectacular."
The council's chief executive, John Freeman, said it would do whatever it could to support the revitalisation of Waipawa, starting with restoring the town hall. However, it had to balance the work with council priorities, such as roads and sewage systems.
"I'm confident that between the people in this town, council staff, elected members and people out there who want to donate money to benefit the cause, we can do great things."
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