Funding boost for Far North tourism projects

New funding will make it easier for visitors to camp in the Far North, launch their boats and keep the district tidy after the council won $764,066 from the government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

The fund helps communities to provide facilities that support tourism. This is particularly important in provincial areas where building and maintaining tourism infrastructure can put pressure on stretched council finances.

Four Far North District Council projects were allocated funding in the sixth round of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund. The council will receive:

• $259,500 to upgrade the Waipapa Landing trailer boat parking area
• $88,500 to upgrade the Rangiputa trailer boat parking area
• $340,500 to improve responsible camping facilities at Kaikohe
• $75,566 to install 10 Wi-Fi-enabled smart bins across the district.

Far North District Council has benefitted significantly from past TIF funding rounds. TIF grants have sealed two roads used extensively by tourists, helped improve parking and build new public toilets at several remote tourism hotspots, and improved several boating facilities.

The council has already installed the first of five self-compacting, Wi-Fi-enabled smart rubbish bins paid for by round five TIF grants. The bins, to be located at Paihia, Russell, Kawakawa, Ōpononi and Pukenui Wharf, use sensors to detect rubbish levels and alert contractors when they need to be emptied. A built-in solar-powered compactor enables the bins to take up to five times more rubbish than a standard waste bin and eliminates rubbish overflow problems.