Te Aroha Mineral Spas development not going ahead after funding difficulties

The council allocated $18.9 million to the project as part of the 2021 Long-Term Plan, but the concept design has an estimated cost of $37.7 million. Image / Matamata-Piako District Council

The $37 million Spa development planned for Te Aroha is not going ahead.

Matamata-Piako District Councillors discussed the project’s fate at its final meeting of the year, voting to put it on ice until the Long Term Plan consultations next year.

Mayor Adrienne Wilcock said there was no interest from investors for the previously-approved concept design which included 11 outdoor pools, six private pools and a rhassoul room.

“We had two parties that were interested in taking over the operation of it and what the current facility could be staged to.

“But there is no clarity around what that would look like, so we also voted to engage further with one of the parties in the new year, before the long-term-plan consultation with the community.”

Feedback from the investor, received by the Project Governance Group suggested utilising the existing Te Aroha Mineral Spas building in an unspecified “repurposed and refurbished manner” with the inclusion of “outdoor experiences directly behind the existing building”.

The name of the Australian-based investor has been kept confidential “due to commercial sensitivities”.

The council allocated $18.9 million to the project as part of the 2021 Long-Term Plan, but the concept design, approved in September 2022 by the previous council, has an estimated cost of $37.7 million.

The council can’t carry the costs by itself, so it needed third-party investors.

“We’ve done a lot of work to flash out the project and after there had been interest expressed last year, it’s disappointing the interest [from investors] now isn’t there.

The current Te Aroha Mineral Spa facility at the foot of Mount Te Aroha.

“We always had a view that for [the project] to proceed, it was not to be a burden on the ratepayer.”

Wilcock said the lack of interest from investors “wasn’t a huge surprise in the current economic environment” but the council would continue to explore alternative options that could still see Te Aroha thrive.

“We know that Te Aroha has huge tourism potential. In its spa heyday, it was a bigger destination than Rotorua.

“[And] the current [mineral spa] facility will need some sort of refurbishment at some stage.”

However, there were currently no specific plans for this, Wilcock said.

The Te Aroha Mineral Spa massage and beauty arm received its own home at the Domain House in 2021, opening up a space for an additional mineral spa tub.

The Te Aroha Spa project was first put on the cards by the previous council, led by then-mayor Ash Tanner, in 2019.

The project intended to replace the existing Mineral Spas, which were operating at capacity and, at times, had difficulties keeping up with the demand.

Talking to the Waikato Herald, Tanner said he was disappointed the project was not going ahead.

“It’s a shame, I would have loved to see it happen. The figures I saw, when I was part of the Project Governance Group, stacked up. It was a no-brainer.”

He said not proceeding with a spa project - in any form - would be a “lost opportunity”.

Adrienne Wilcock, mayor of Matamata-Piako District Council. Photo / Alex Cairns

“Te Aroha is in close proximity to Auckland... [A spa development] would not be only great for Te Aroha but for the whole district.

“There is huge potential there. I would hate to see [the project] die in the ditch... Let’s hope there is going to be something.”

With the project now put on ice, the council also dissolved the Project Governance Group, because a redevelopment of the existing spa would be a completely different project from the one they have led for the last two years.

The council will consult with the community on the future of the spa project as part of the Long Term Plan from March next year.

Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined NZME in 2021 and is writing for the Waikato Herald.

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