$20m Paihia revamp plan stalls

When it was announced in 2006 it was to have been the biggest waterfront development the Far North had ever seen - and, with a price tag of $20 million, the most expensive.
But now Far North Holdings' ambitious Paihia redevelopment has been put on ice, a victim of the economic downturn and belt-tightening.
Directors of the council-owned company insist, however, the project is not dead in the water.
The consents were won in 2009, after much effort and expense, and last until 2044 - but only if work on each part of the project starts by 2019.
The redevelopment was to have included 620m of breakwater, 320m of restored beach between Paihia wharf and the Bluff, 4000sq m of reclamation, new berths, a new building for maritime businesses, a restaurant, i-Site and promenade.
News that the project was being put on hold was delivered to the Far North District Council last week by Ian Walker, one of Far North Holdings' new directors.
Mr Walker said the project was to have been built in stages. The new maritime building had to be built first to provide income to help pay for community amenities such as the breakwaters and beach restoration.
Beach restoration was the most costly part of the project, so the commercial part had to be built first, Mr Walker said.
Construction would begin only once the building was 70 per cent pre-tenanted. The company did not want to build it, then see it empty and depressing the market.
"But we haven't scrapped it. We do have a consent and we can start any time before 2019. It's still a live project, but the fundamentals at the moment don't make it viable."
In the meantime, Far North Holdings was exploring every possible avenue for funding. The New Zealand Transport Agency had also been approached because the breakwater would help protect the beachfront road from storm damage.
Mr Walker said the project was still necessary. Paihia was one of the four top tourist destinations in New Zealand, but had none of the infrastructure or investment of the other three.
When the redevelopment was first announced it was said to be needed so Paihia could compete for tourists with the likes of Queenstown.
Planning the project took 10 years of research and five years of consultation. The beach restoration plan came about after calls from the public to revive what had been Paihia's main beach until it vanished in the 1960s.
The breakwaters, while also calming the bay, were needed to stop the restored beach being washed away again.
A scaled down version of the redevelopment, worth about $16 million, was approved in 2009. Objectors included the Department of Conservation and iwi, who were concerned that the breakwaters were originally designed to join on to Motumaire Island, which is wahi tapu.