Over 1000 touchpoints of feedback received on the Rototuna village designs, being used to develop an updated “Rototuna Revisited” proposal, were presented to the Council’s Community Services and Environment Committee this week.

A wide range of people and groups in the north-east of Hamilton were invited to provide feedback on two designs as part of a “share your voice, shape your city” engagement process.

Rototuna Project Manager Natasha Ryan said “both of the two designs presented – Rototuna A and Rototuna B - had elements that people loved and things they wanted to change”.

“Overall, residents stressed they wanted a village that would be a place where everyone could feel at home: inclusive, welcoming and connected to the wider community. There were themes that emerged which will and are being considered in the next phases of design – including a common desire to see the Rototuna village celebrate the past, future and diversity of all people who live there,” Ms Ryan added.

Work is progressing on refining the design and programme for implementation and that will go to Council in June for adoption to proceed to the next stage. “Responding to community feedback will lead to amendments to the current consents for the village,” said Ms Ryan. “This presents a potential risk for the timing of construction but will result in an overall village outcome that will better meet the needs of this community.”

A revised design for Rototuna village will be circulated shortly.

Specific elements of feedback on the two proposals included:

- use of good lighting and clear connections for people

- developing North City Rd with pedestrians, cyclists, mobility scooters as priority users

- providing specialised car parks near key destinations for specific users such as people with higher mobility needs

- skatepark and playground to be further away from the library entrance

- ensuring all key recreational facilities are within sightline of each other

- using different varieties of trees that will enhance shade and add character and colour

- creating a real sense of “heart” and activity in the village square and establishing this as a linking element between all facilities

- making buildings interesting and colourful

- providing a public toilet.

Background

The Council set aside $19.6million for development of Rototuna community facilities including a library, bookable rooms, village square, car parking in the proposed village at Rototuna, along with asking staff to develop a mechanism to engage private parties to develop a pool.

Engagement with the community on two draft proposals for the Rototuna village (that could be met within budget) began in February and ran through to April 2019.

A link to a copy of the engagement report summarising the feedback can be found here.

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