Kāpiti Coast District councillors share thoughts on Gateway Centre

Kāpiti Gateway Centre concept design. Graphic / Athfield Architects

Before voting on whether to proceed with Kāpiti Gateway Centre project Te Uruhi, which was given the nod 7 votes to 4, Kāpiti Coast District councillors and the mayor voiced their thoughts.

Here is a snapshot of what each one said:

Rob McCann: "While I have grave concerns about the process, and it has undermined some significant amount of potential support for the project, in my mind I can separate the process from project and that's why I'm recommending that we vote for it."

Janet Holborow: "As elected members sometimes you do have to make decisions in the midst of a lot of noise and a lot of emotion, but sometimes it's necessary to see through that, and past that, and make the call that you know is the right one for your district."

Jackie Elliott: "This is a fit for purpose, functioning, removable, welcoming, cost-effective space to showcase the very best that the great Kāpiti Coast has to offer, while providing fit for purpose biosecurity, all in an enhanced natural environment."

Gwynn Compton: "One of the key concerns I've had about this project was around whether the business case could show a meaningful benefit to the district from its existence ... those concerns still haven't been addressed. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a toll gate for visitors to the island."

James Cootes: "I'm reluctantly in support of this project, I say reluctantly because it would have been better to take the community with us, but that being said, there's a lot of misinformation out there, but equally I've never seen a more unified and powerful moment within this chamber with iwi coming together sending a very clear signal that this is important to them."

Kāpiti Gateway Centre concept design. Graphic / Athfield Architects

Sophie Handford: "Ultimately I hope that, through voting for this, I'm standing alongside other young people who are very much in support of the idea of having a Gateway of this sort to tell the stories of our tangata whenua. And I would like to acknowledge our iwi partners and their strong wero to us."

Angela Buswell: There are so many aspects of our wellbeing that are covered in this project. I'm really pleased to see the different changes that have been made to progress this project on with a little bit more consultation and a little bit more thought. I'm heartened we will be reviewing the process too."

Bernie Randall: "I'll be voting strongly against it and I'd like to endorse what Cr Compton has said."

Martin Halliday: "I feel a bit ripped off. I think we had a good opportunity, at the start of this, to work with our community. I'm very concerned there will be reputational damage to this council around this process. I would have liked to see this project simplified."

Jocelyn Prvanov: "I don't believe the numbers stack up. It's been full steam ahead and there's been no opportunity for the community to be involved. The projects that work well are the ones that take the community along with them. What has been proposed is way too big and I have major concerns about the location."

K Gurunathan (mayor): "This isn't the only project and angst that the community has gone through. I remember the huge objections when the library was built. You've got a library now. Beautiful building. Residential satisfaction surveys are consistently high. The aquatic centre had huge objections and the cost escalated. Difficult journey. It's valued infrastructure now. Again satisfaction levels up in the high nineties. Things change. You take brave steps."