Whangamatā is a step closer to getting a community marae with concept designs and land appointed for a reserve.

Whangamatā Community Marae Trustchairman Ryan Thompson said they now had a 4700sq m section at 101 Lindsay Rd to work with.

The trust had worked alongside the Thames-Coromandel District Council to subdivide the 6400sq m section.

The remaining 1700sq m block would be used by a council contractor, he said.

It followed a successful bid by the trust to secure a portion of land in the town for the development of a community marae.

Having the land designated a community reserve would give the project more security, Thompson said.

“The land was previously designated commercial, it gives security, it designates what the land can be used for.”

In August the council approved setting aside a portion of the council-owned property at 101 Lindsay Rd in Whangamatā so that it could be used for the site of a community marae and community hub.

The site has a controversial past, more recently in 2021 when strong public protest persuaded the council not to sell the land and instead look for a community use for it.

Thompson said the trust had secured $100,000 towards site planning and design from multiple organisations.

That included $50,000 from Lottery Community Facilities, $10,000 from a Thames-Coromandel District Council waste management fund towards a resource recovery centre, $15,000 from the Eastern Coromandel Community Services Trust, $5000 from a Community Organisation Grants Scheme and $20,000 from the Department of Internal Affairs.

Thompson said the proposal was still in the early stages and there was more consultation with anticipated changes to the concept.

He said the final design concept would likely be completed later this year.

“It is a starting point; it allows us to talk to stakeholders and the community and iwi and then refine it.

“It is really exciting to be at this stage and have something to look at.”

A crowd gathers to enjoy food and live entertainment at Williamson Park in Whangamatā for 2024 Matariki celebrations.

Earlier meetings with iwi had been positive and a Ngāti Pū representative had been elected.

A staged approach to funding had been recommended with capital funding to be looked at once concept designs were in place.

In August Thompson said there were huge celebrations when the trust heard the council had approved its application.

“After 50 years of trying, this is finally becoming a reality, our job is tempering that excitement.

“A huge amount of support and excitement, we have to journey with people through that process.”

A design concept for the community marae in Whangamatā.

The Whangamatā Community Marae committee was first registered as an incorporated society in 1990.

The committee subsequently moved to a trust structure and was registered as a charitable trust in 2022.

Its mission statement is to establish a modern, state-of-the-art marae facility that will benefit the whole community of Whangamatā and surrounding areas, to administer a marae facility to provide for education, tangihanga, hui, wānanga, arts and any other event or activity with a community purpose and benefit and to provide educational opportunities to the Whangamatā community on tikanga Māori and tereo Māori.