The recent announcement of the proposed Adventure Park at Colonial Knob is great news for Porirua City.
Visitors at the Christchurch Adventure Park
After almost two years on the table, it is welcome news as it will attract significantly more visitors to Porirua. The network of trails is expected to bring walkers and mountain bikers with additional attractions will include two cafes, a chairlift, and an indoor surf simulator.
Great pieces of infrastructure like this can’t stand in isolation. It’s encouraging that there is private investment confidence in supporting such a facility on an amazing site, but the city now has to ensure that we can leverage additional growth from and support the operation in every way we can. Over the next few months the Chamber will be engaging with the business and wider community to ensure that there is some discussion and planning so we can maximize the benefit of the park.
For instance, the ”way finding” for visitors coming into Porirua is challenging. How do you find your way around easily? What are the existing businesses that can add to the experience such as Adrenalin Forest at Gear Homestead? What future business possibilities are possible and what is the supporting infrastructure needed to bring hundreds of thousands of additional people here, like great cycleways, public transport and roads?
It’s important to remember that are still hurdles to the development too. A resource consent process will generate possible opposition to utilizing parts of the scenic reserve, will have to be confirmed. The Chamber is following this process closely and advocating to support an environmentally sound operations that has the support of the wider business community.
On the subject of resource consent, it’s often a barrier that business comes up against when trying to establish or expand. Over the coming months the council will be engaging with the business community on where and how Porirua continues to grow and the kind of rules that support growth. The mechanism to influence this is through the District Plan, which is being reviewed. This is a good chance to get an overview of the important issues and feed you viewpoints into the process. The plan covers things like business signage, parking, earthworks and environmental protection, along with zoning.