Village upgrades to target functions

CHRIS HILLOCK

Makeover: Taranaki's Pioneer Village is planning to become sustainable. From left, President Barrie Smith, manager Roz Liddell, and consultant Tony Watts are confident the village will become a premium venue.

Relevant offers

Taranaki's Pioneer Village is about to re-launch itself in the hope of standing on its own feet for the first time in 36 years.

The village has raised $350,000 for a new function centre and cafe to transform the historic hamlet into a top-quality venue as well as a tourist attraction.

Village Society president Barrie Smith said the main aim was to have a "one-stop-shop" for weddings as well as a facility for other celebrations, conferences and even funerals.

"We still want to preserve and protect the heritage artefacts and buildings, that will always be first on our list, but we want to become self-sustainable as well," he said.

After its completion in March, the function centre will seat 150 people and the new cafe about 40. As part of the master plan the church will have a new roof and a fresh paint job, the gardens will be done and hopefully the courthouse will get an upgrade too.

Plans for the makeover were first developed to combat the downturn in people wanting to spend their free time at museums or trailing around heritage sites - a global problem.

Trusts such as the TET and TSB, which have provided huge amounts of money for the organisation over the years, had also expressed a desire to support a project which would help the village become sustainable.

Consultant Tony Watts, who was employed by the society, said a function centre was the perfect answer for the village, as its unique backdrop and range of facilities would suit many different occasions.

"Imagine having a wedding here - you would get married at the church, guests could go over to the function centre, you could have photos with the buildings, the train, at the lake, with the mountain in the background - it provides everything."

The village already hosted several weddings, but could provide only the church service, which "took away" from the location, Mr Watts said.

New office and tourism manager Roz Liddell hopes the centre will become a destination for couples returning from overseas to get married, or for those who have ties to Taranaki and are looking for a venue.

"But it's about more than that, it's about having the complete package. We want people to re- kindle their relationship with Pioneer Village."

Mrs Liddell said it was about bringing the village to those she called the "VFR" market.

"It's the visiting friends and relatives. We need our local community to bring their visitors back to the village.

"If we have the support of the region we can become sustainable."

Mr Smith added that the challenge would be a tough one and the village needed to take it one project at a time.

"But we are determined to stand on our own feet and we're accepting the challenge."

- © Fairfax NZ News