“Hardly used for the purpose it was built, sometimes used inappropriately, it cost a packet to build and has been consuming over $30,000 per annum of ratepayer money to operate.”
The dump station located at the park would remain operational.
Council chief executive Ben Smit said there was also potential to relocate the bathroom and kitchen facilities to the Marokopa Holiday Park to replace aging facilities there.
“However, further discussions will need to take place first,” he said.
The Marokopa Holiday Park is currently operated by the council as well. It hoped to lease it to a suitable operator, however.
They also wanted to pass over the Tui Park Holiday Park in Piopio to the local community.
Robertson said Marokopa Campground brought in annual revenue of $50,000, with costs about the same, including paying a manager.
The decision to close down Te Kūiti Holiday Park was made after a short period of online engagement and feedback from the community.
“The council should not be running holiday parks. Better to let private operators like Top 10 at Waitomo Village run them. They do it well,” Robertson said.
No date for the closure of Te Kūiti Holiday Park has been set yet.
“We will let the community know when this will happen,” Smit said.
The council said development of the facility was undertaken in 2018 after securing a grant of $200,000 from central government.
