Splash Planet in Hastings to close early to cover costs

A bummer summer means Splash Planet in Hastings is closing before the season is over. Photo / Warren Buckland

Splash Planet is pulling the plug and shutting up for the season from Sunday.

The Hastings District Council decided at a meeting on Tuesday it wanted to limit the amount of ratepayer funding needed to cover the costs of a challenging season.

The last day will be February 23.

As of the end of January, visitor numbers to the water park were down more than 15,000 on the previous season and revenue was down by $558,000, with the council previously saying a wet and cold summer hasn’t helped.

The council says effective operations management at Splash Planet has cut costs so far this season by $232,000, reducing the loss to $326,000.

But if targets around revenue were not met, the burden falls to ratepayers to cover the loss.

Councillor Simon Nixon moved a motion to close the water park, saying it was a “disaster” but this was “not of our making”.

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst praised the staff at the water park, thanking them for their hard work.

“It’s a fantastic asset but we have to be prudent at this time,” she said.

The council agenda said Hastings ratepayers’ contribution to Splash Planet was budgeted at $1.42 million for the 2024/25 season. However, at the end of January, the ratepayer contribution required was likely to be about $1.7m.

There were just 14 days of the season left, seven weekends, because the facility does not open on weekdays from February onwards.

“To meet budget Splash Planet, would have to make $78,500 a day, which means getting more than 2450 people through the doors every day [based on the person paying $32],” the council’s agenda said.

There have only been three days this season when more than 2200 people went to the park, for 60% of the season so far there had been fewer than 882 people in the park.

Hastings District Council aquatics manager Tom Page previously told Hawke’s Bay Today that up until Christmas Day, the numbers using the outdoor facilities had been very similar to last year.

“However, the miserable weather we have had since then has undoubtedly had an impact on Splash Planet.”

He was hoping for warmer temperatures for the remainder of the summer, but they have been few and far between.

“This season from December 15, 2024, there has been just one week where the temperature was above 24C for two days, and in contrast, there were two weeks with zero days above 24C,” the council’s agenda said.

The bummer summer has affected all aquatic facilities in Hastings.

At this stage, this weekend’s temperatures are forecast to be 21C on Saturday and 22C on Sunday.

People who have purchased tickets in advance would be contacted and have a choice to use them this weekend or get a refund. There were 96 tickets booked for March.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.