Family-friendly Maitai Recreation Hub to be developed

Families, walkers, runners and cyclists will have a new place to visit or set off from on their adventures, as a location for the Maitai Recreation Hub in the Maitai Valley is confirmed at Waahi Taakaro Golf Course.

Concept designs for the new hub are now underway after Council confirmed the site for the new hub in a Community and Recreation Committee meeting on Thursday 22 April.

The hub will build upon the existing facilities at the golf course, and the impact on the golf playing area will be minimal.

The new hub is expected to become a destination for families, with proposed attractions such as a pump track and skills park.

Community and Recreation Committee Chair Tim Skinner said the hub's location, in a recreation reserve, was in one of the most beautiful places in the region and would provide a fantastic new amenity for locals and visitors alike.

"The new hub isn't just for cyclists; it will be a place for everybody – families, walkers, runners and golfers will all be able to take advantage of these facilities and enjoy spending time in the reserve.”  

The new hub is expected to relieve some of the pressure from the popular Codgers Recreation Hub in The Brook. It will serve as a base for easier, family-friendly off-road cycling and walking tracks to be developed in the Maitai Valley in the future.

While the hub's design is still in development, plans also include the addition of composting toilets, a bike repair station, a bike washdown station, a water fountain, a car parking area and potential for a commercial space to be used for such things as equipment hire or sale, or a cafe.

A new recreation hub in the Maitai Valley has been in development for some years. The need for the hub was identified in the Out and About On Tracks Strategy in 2016, and the project was granted $498,550 in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) Tourism Infrastructure Fund in 2019.

The Ministry has indicated that funding remains available, and this is expected to be confirmed within the next month. Council has budgeted $500,000 toward the development of the hub.

Council has worked closely with the Nelson Mountain Bike Club, Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust, the Waahi Takaro Golf Club and Sport Tasman on the proposed site of the new hub and will continue to do so throughout the development of the project.

Council has an interim agreement with neighbouring landowners Koata Ltd that allows all users of Codgers and Fringed Hill to secure free recreational access to the tracks via online registration. The nearby Sharlands area has a focus on mountain biking and access is granted solely via membership of the Nelson Mountain Bike Club. 

Council officers will now continue to work on the design of the hub, and construction is expected to begin in spring 2021.