Work begins on new Kuirau Park market space

Friday 21, June 2019 | News |

The new look Saturday Rotary market is in sight. A karakia by Rotorua Lakes Council Kaitiaki Ahurea Māori Monty Morrison was performed at the site this morning and construction of the new Kuirau Park market space will now begin.

This upgraded area will double as a car park on weekdays. While the work takes place the Rotary market will continue to run in its current location however the car park off Kuirau Street and the basketball courts will be closed throughout construction.

Construction is likely to take 10 weeks to complete, weather permitting. As part of the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan Kuirau Park was identified as a significant asset with the potential to become a premier family-friendly location for visitors and locals alike. Building on improvements that have been staged throughout the last six years, more areas will be upgraded to provide an opportunity to create a cohesive space that ties together and celebrates Rotorua’s unique relationship with Te Arawa and geothermal activity.

The new market space will be the first of the upgrades to be completed. Council has been working alongside Rotary market director Garry Adlam to ensure the new space will meet its needs. When the new space was first proposed Mr Adlam said the addition of the market space would provide a great opportunity to expand their market and make it possible to generate more funds to give back to the community. “The upgraded site will give us the opportunity to increase not only the number of stallholders but also our customer base; which will make it possible to generate additional funds to give back to our community. We look forward to the Kuirau Park Rotary Market being the place to be on Saturday,” Mr Adlam says.

Feedback from park users has also highlighted that the basketball court is a popular community asset for young people in the area. In response to that feedback the design of the new market space now incorporates an adjacent upgraded court. The existing court will be unusable while the work on the new market place takes place. Once the new market space is complete Council will continue with further upgrades which include planning and designing a geothermal water play space and adding interpretive signage and cultural elements. Click here more information about the Kuirau Park redevelopment project.

Top