Wairarapa MP John Hayes says the Universal College of Learning (UCol) should pay back money invested by the local council into a Cordon Bleu cooking school which is now being built in Wellington. Photo / Wairarapa Times-Age
The Wairarapa MP and the region's three mayors are demanding Universal College of Learning, or Ucol, pay them back $570,000 they had invested in an elite cuisine school planned for Martinborough.
Ucol announced on Monday Le Cordon Bleu cooking school would be moved to a site in Wellington.
School of Cuisine project manager Christine Beech said the decision to move the school had been partly driven by rising building costs, and renovating an existing building was more attractive.
Funding for the school came from the district councils, along with close to $2 million from Trade and Enterprise regional development fund, the Wairarapa Times-Age reported.
"It's all very well for Ucol to toddle off into the sunset," Wairarapa MP John Hayes said, "but they need to pay back the money invested by councils and reimburse Wairarapa for the time and energy people freely gave putting together a syllabus that was going to be unique in the world to Martinborough."
Mr Hayes said the $2 million regional development money also belongs in Wairarapa, not Wellington.
"What we should be doing now is saying 'we want that money back here so we can have our own regional initiative'."
South Wairarapa Mayor Adrienne Staples was equally angry, saying she intends to bill Ucol for the money spent by South Wairarapa.
"I haven't formally asked for (the money) yet, but I've been told informally that I won't get it back," Ms Staples said.
"This project was going to help the whole of Wairarapa, not just Martinborough."
Masterton Mayor Garry Daniell said while he knows "in my heart" the school has been lost to Wairarapa, "we're still in the boxing ring right at this stage I don't totally agree that the deal is dead yet".
Mr Daniell said he had spoken to Tertiary Education Minister Pete Hodgson.
"It's clear that Ucol had not consulted the minister about (the move)."
Carterton Mayor Gary McPhee said he hoped Carterton would get its regional initiative money back, but he wasn't sure how likely it is.
"It's ratepayers' money put in for a purpose."
- NZPA
