Nearly $800,000 worth of facilities that will benefit locals and tourists have been granted to Wairoa through the Tourism Infrastructure Funding Application.  

The successful Wairoa District Council application saw $776,160 awarded for public toilet facilities and smart solar powered compactor bins across the district.   

The funding will see $498,000 for the upgrade of Wairoa Camping ground toilet facilities in town, two lots of $106,080 for upgrades of Oraka and Nuhaka public toilet facilities and $66,000 for the installation of BigBelly Bins. 

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash congratulated all the successful applicants adding that the Tourism Infrastructure Funding plays a key role in helping to support infrastructure that many small towns and districts cannot afford by themselves. This round of funding saw $15 million invested into projects around the country.    

Minister Nash said since 2017, the Tourism Infrastructure Fundinghas supported more than 200 projects totalling $91.3 million, which have improved the quality of tourism infrastructure for residents and visitors alike.  

Wairoa District Council Chief Executive Kitea Tipuna said receiving the funding was a real boost. “Wairoa is being recognised more and more as a go to destination and it is a real win to be able to provide facilities for visitors and locals without impacting our ratepayers.”

“Everybody likes to be able to use clean and tidy public toilet facilities and this funding will help us to achieve that.”

Mr Tipuna said the BigBelly bins (pictured) are being used in town with the increased capacity a huge bonus. The smart bins are equipped with a small solar-powered compactor. A sensor inside the bin activates the compactor, which crushes the rubbish and recycling meaning Bigbelly bins can hold up to six times more rubbish than a standard New Zealand rubbish bin.

“Council is always looking to make improvements while balancing that against rate increases. Thanks to the hard work from our staff in preparing comprehensive applications Wairoa has been fortunate to receive the highest amount of Tourism Infrastructure Funding in Hawke’s Bay which is a credit to everyone involved.”

19 August 2022

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