We are moving ahead with the first phase of the Te Aroha Spa proposal.

This is part of a larger vision to attract more visitors to Te Aroha, economic development for the town and broader district, and improve the experience, use and access of community spaces within the Domain for visitors and local people.

Mayor Ash believes the Domain’s natural beauty, historical and cultural aspects, and its association with Mount Te Aroha, supports this vision - and in particular the development of a leading spa and beauty therapy business to build on the success of the existing facility. “The existing spa and hot pool business is successful but with only one treatment room it can’t meet demand.”

“Over the years Te Aroha has lost a lot of big business and it’d be great to have a drawcard like this for the town. With retail struggling, we want more people visiting the town and the district - we’re close to a number of major cities and airports and this would be a top attraction within a short drive. It’d tie in with existing attractions like the cycle trail and benefit other businesses, such as accommodation providers. We hope it’ll be the catalyst for new businesses to start up. It’s hard to see a down side,” said Mayor Ash.

Although he is also quick to point out the process has a number of checks and balances along the way. It has been split into three phases and Councillors will need to be satisfied with the outcomes at the end of each phase for the proposal to progress. Phase one involves reviewing the documents that were developed as part of the Provincial Growth Fund project, such as the Feasibility Study and Business Case, and is expected to be completed at the end of March 2021. “This is intended to be a commercial venture, where income covers costs, and we need to be confident the business case supports that intention,” said Mayor Ash.

The review will be carried out by Graham Shortland of Shortland Consulting who has been appointed as the spa development’s Project Manager. Mayor Ash is excited to have Graham on board. “He knows what it takes to make a commercial venture successful and it’s critical this project gets off on the right foot. Some will remember him as the Matamata-Piako Contribution to Community Award recipient in 2019 so he knows the challenges our communities face.”

Should the Phase 1 review give confidence around the viability of developing a new spa business, the proposal could proceed to Phase 2 in April 2021. During Phase 2 the scale and nature of any new spa facility would be assessed along with an analysis of the build options.

Project manager Graham Shortland will report to a Project Governance Group and the Mayor will be the Council representative on the Group once it’s set up.