Hundreds object to town hall project

TOO MUCH: (From left) Jade Holley, Wendy Yeatman and Sue Fox are against the amount of money being spent on the Martinborough Town Hall project. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Too costly and too risky, is what hundreds of people think of the $6.2 million Martinborough Town Hall community centre project.

Featherston residents Sue Fox, Jade Holley and Wendy Yeatman collected 549 signatures in one week and submitted it to South Wairarapa District Council before its annual plan consultation process finished yesterday.

The town hall earthquake strengthening, refurbishment and extension to house the i-Site and library, is estimated to cost the council $3.2 million, more than the $900,000 it had committed to the works.

The rest of the cost is to come from fundraising and grants.

The women said they started the petition because there was a sense of injustice among Featherston people and the project only benefited one town.

Ms Fox said over the past 20 years Featherston ratepayers had supported money going into Greytown and Martinborough, which were now affluent.

"Featherston's gone backwards.

"We think its about time for some focus towards Featherston...especially now council has a large piece of land on the main street ripe for development.

"If there's money to be spent we feel it would be best spent on the gateway to Wairarapa."

Ms Holley said she believed in saving the building, but it was a disproportionate amount of ratepayer money to spend on one town.

"We're not against the idea, we are against the amount being spent on it," she said.

Mrs Yeatman said the councils rate base was tiny and the Martinborough population did not justify the project.

"Hardly anyone lives there compared to Featherston."

Ms Holley questioned how much use the centre would get.

"How many people have houses there [in Martinborough] but don't live there?"

According to Statistics NZ census data, 30 per cent of dwellings in Martinborough are unoccupied compared to 12 per cent in Featherston and 13 per cent in Greytown.

The council plans to carry out the project in stages and sell $1.6 million of land to fund part of the costs.

That is a council asset and if it does sell it, it could go towards the core $31 million waste-water project or Featherston, Ms Holley said.

The trio are starting an action group against the project, but also to get the best outcome for the vacant land in Featherston, which was recently consulted on.

They said council had only asked whether ratepayers wanted a town square and Menz Shed.

"They haven't invested any time or money to get professional ideas and what the most suitable development might be," Ms Fox said.

She said a meeting at Anzac Hall will be held soon and advertised.