A conceptual flyover of the Rotorua Lakefront and Whakarewarewa Forest redevelopment.
The Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers group is opposing the investment of almost $40 million into the redevelopment of the city Lakefront.
But Rotorua Lakes Council says its redevelopment has been in the works for more than a decade and is an "important component" of a central city upgrade.
Inits 2018-2028 Long-term Plan the council allocated $20m over eight years to the project. Last week the Government announced it would contribute $19.9m to the Lakefront from the Provincial Growth Fund.
A conceptual impression of the Rotorua Lakefront development. Image / Supplied
The ratepayers group has since begun a petition to stop the redevelopment, saying it would "destroy the current Lakefront walkway, retaining wall and parking, disturb culturally significant sites, remove dozens of car parks and needlessly waste taxpayers' and ratepayers' money".
The group's secretary, Reynold Macpherson, said, in his opinion, the Lakefront redevelopment wasn't a priority in comparison to re-opening the museum as that would "restart cash flows".
"Any spare cash should be used to earthquake-proof the museum and Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre to get local groups operating again ... and to fund other improvements as they can be afforded."
Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers secretary Reynold Macpherson. Photo / File
In a written response, the council provided "key facts" about the project and referred the
to information about the Provincial Growth Fund announcement and Long-term Plan consultation.
The council's statement said plans to redevelop the Lakefront dated back to 2006 "when it was identified as an important component for the upgrade of the central city with the view to creating a world-class waterfront".
The statement said its redevelopment was also identified as a "big move" in 2017 as part of Rotorua 2030 and the need for partnership funding was discussed then.
Residents and ratepayers group chairwoman Glenys Searancke said the group objected to money being spent on the redevelopment because it was "impractical".
She said the existing promenade, wharf and parking were functional and the proposed new walkway would be "a wooden eyesore".
Rotorua Lakes councillor . 16 October 2015 Daily Post photograph supplied. RGP 18Dec15 - Glenys Searancke PHOTO/FILE RGP 16Jan16 - RGP 27Jan16 - RGP 24Jun16 - RGP 24Aug16 - S
The group also said there hadn't been public hearings before decisions were made. However, the Lakefront redevelopment was included in the council's 2018-2028 Long-term Plan.
Consultation on the final plan was undertaken in March and April this year in the form of forums, pop-ups, council presence at events, online, meetings with iwi and community conversations. It was adopted in June.
The council said a Lakefront project was part of Rotorua's Visitor Economy Strategy and a Regional Visitor Economy Strategy.
The announcement of $19.9m towards the project from the Provincial Growth Fund was made by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau.
assessing the quality of applications was a robust process.
Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau at the announcement of funding for the city from the Provincial Growth Fund. Photo / File
"Once an application has been received, it goes through an assessment process to determine whether the application meets the fund's eligibility criteria.
"PGF funding towards the redevelopment of the Rotorua Lakefront ... strongly aligns with the fund's objectives – in this case, investing in regional infrastructure to support the growth of high-value tourism."
In a joint response to follow up questions from the Rotorua Daily Post, Searancke and Macpherson said the Lakefront was well-used but needed better maintenance.
When asked how many petition signatures the group considered enough to make a difference, they said: "The petition is to allow residents and ratepayers to make a point, so the actual total is not that significant".
Rotorua Lakes Council did not respond to questions about how culturally sensitive sites would be preserved, how many signatures it would take to change the council's mind in regards to redeveloping the Lakefront, and whether the council thought the Lakefront needed revitalising.
It was also asked about the removal of lake weed as the residents association said this would gather around the boardwalk's piles.
