Rotorua Night Market trialling new Kuirau Park location from October

The Rotorua Night Market is trialling a move to Kuirau Park over summer.

The Rotorua Night Market is trialling a new location over summer.

Rotorua Lakes Council said today the weekly market will move from Tūtānekai St to Kuirau Park from Thursday.

The council said the trial aimed to improve the market and reduce costs to ratepayers.

The event had previously cost $200,000 per year to run.

“During council’s annual planning process, elected members asked the chief executive to investigate options for running the market at an alternative location and/or through another operator to achieve these outcomes,” a council statement said.

“Trialling the night market in Kuirau Park means we can give this new location a go before looking at potentially having the night market run by another operator.”

The council said the new location meant the market could open earlier with trading hours 4pm to 8pm, weather dependent.

“People’s safety is of key importance and Kuirau Park offers an opportunity to address and mitigate some health and safety concerns to provide a safer environment for vendors, visitors and staff.”

The market will be held on the car park and basketball court on the corner of Kuirau and Pukuatua Sts.

Parking will be available on the paved area across Kuirau St.

The council want to hear from locals on how they are finding the new set up.

Vendors, customers and community members will be invited to register on the council’s Participate platform to provide feedback after the market has been running for a few weeks.