The total budget for a revamp of Whanganui’s North Mole is $2.56 million. Photo / Supplied
The total budget for a revamp of Whanganui’s North Mole is $2.56 million. Photo / Supplied
A revamp of Whanganui’s North Mole will begin before winter, and native plants have been “ordered well in advance”.
Whanganui District Council project lead Diana Veitch said the council expected to have a preferred designer in the next two weeks.
Concept images of a detailed plan would follow inthe next two months, she said.
Registrations of interest from designers closed on November 21 last year.
Beginning in 2022, the project was initially led by community and hapū collective Ngā Ringaringa Waewae, which ran workshops and focus groups to find out what the community wanted for the area.
The project is being overseen by the Whanganui District Council, with a steering group including Te Pūwaha director Hayden Turoa, Progress Castlecliff chair James Barron and hapū expert adviser Seletar Taputoro.
“Costs include the resource consent application, community engagement, project team costs, along with coastal engineer and geotech reports,” she said.
Construction was originally planned to be finished by November 2025, but the departure of Ngā Ringaringa Waewae representative Jamie Waugh and an injury to an expert adviser had caused a delay.
An artist's impression of the North Mole project, released in 2024.
The total budget is $2.56 million, made up of council funding and a $876,250 grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund, secured by Ngā Ringaringa Waewae in 2023.
When completed, the area will have a split-level car park, toilet and shower facilities, an extended riverside shared pathway, and a restored fore dune.
Veitch said the project was being delivered within budget.
“As with many projects of this scale, this has required some refinement of scope to focus on what the community has identified as the highest priorities from earlier engagement.
“It is also important to note that as the site is highly exposed, the timing and completion of works will be influenced by weather and coastal conditions.
“These factors are being planned for within the existing budget and programme.”
She said once the design phase was finalised, the project team would move into procurement for a construction contractor.
“Planning for dune restoration is already underway, with native plants ordered well in advance due to their long lead times.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
