8 June 2017

$224,500 Funding Boost for Culverden Public Toilets

Minister Paula Bennett announced today that Canterbury will receive a total of $970,000 in government funding for five new tourism infrastructure projects. The Hurunui District Council is one of the benefactors with an allocation of $224,254 for the Culverden toilets and caravan dump station.

Since the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake, and the closure of State Highway 1 north and south of Kaikoura, traffic volumes have significantly increased through State Highway 7 as the alternative route. This has put extraordinary pressure on towns such as Culverden and its infrastructure.

“The public toilets in particular have taken a hammering since November”, Mayor Winton Dalley says. “Practically at any time of day or night, there is a line-up of vehicles with people outside waiting to get into the Culverden toilets. This funding will ease the situation and provide the quality and quantity of toilets to meet the increased current and anticipated future demand.”

This is the second and final round of the Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund as announced at the 2016 Budget 2016 to provide co-funding for infrastructure used by visitors and locals, such as carparks, toilets, rubbish disposal and minor water management projects.

The fund is aimed at helping those communities with high tourism numbers but small rating bases and limited funds to improve local infrastructure. Mayor Dalley said, “That without the funding, local communities are those who potentially suffer and tourism numbers dwindle.

The other successful Canterbury recipients of the Tourism Facilities Grant Fund, were Ashburton District Council for toilets, $105,000, and Mackenzie District Council for three projects concerning toilets and an effluent dump station, $642,000.

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