The Yard Carparking

The vacant yard next to the Hikurangi War Memorial Hall has been a topic of discussion in the community for many years, due to it's prime central location and possibilities for it's future use that could benefit Hikurangi as a community. For a few years the Hikurangi Business Association had been advocating for council to purchase the yard, which was privately owned, to convert into free public parking to support the traffic backlog issues in the main street of the Hikurangi village.

In 2023 the yard came up for sale, and Far North Holdings Ltd attempted to buy the property to put social housing on. There was a big push back on this concept from the Hikurangi community and when the sale and purchase offer was withdrawn, Hikurangi Business Association again advocated for the purchase of this yard by Whangarei District Council. The two local councillors at the time, Gavin Benney and Scott McKenzie, fought for the purchase by WDC, and in 2024 the yard was officially purchased by WDC as a "strategic asset".

The Hikurangi Business Association worked with council staff to remove the fencing around the yard and to get it resurfaced, so that it can be used for free public parking. This has been extremely useful in the busy summer months, and also when there is a big function at the Hikurangi Hotel or the Hikurangi War Memorial Hall.

There is a possibility that the yard will be sold in the future, as the definition of a strategic asset is an asset or group of assets that the Council needs to retain to maintain its capacity to provide services that are considered vital to the current and future well-being of the (Whangārei) community. As the community's needs or priorities change over time, this asset may no longer be considered needed to be owned or maintained by council.

In the meantime, the community welcomes the relief of pressure on parking concerns, and this space also provides a great opportunity to bring locals together in a variety of ways including markets and other events.

Further information on the Yard can be found in project 20 (community housing).