$2m to fix Splash Planet: Entry price to rise by up to $6

• Author: Gary Hamilton-Irvine
• Published date: 24 May 2023
• Publication title: Hastings Leader, The

The Hastings District Council (HDC) owns and operates Splash Planet and met late last week to decide whether to borrow the money needed ($1,428,400) for urgent maintenance and replacement work at the water park

That is on top of a budgeted fund of nearly $700,000 which is already available for maintenance at the park.

After the meeting, HDC said a proportion of the required $2.4m would come from existing operational and capital budgets set aside for the facility, and the rest from loan funding to avoid putting the costs on ratepayers.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said by getting started with these improvements now, “we have the best chance of reopening in the middle of November”.

However, the ticket price of entry will increase between $4 and $6, the mayor said.

An adult Super Pass currently costs $32 for visitors aged over 14.

Hazlehurst said: “We have tried to keep ticket-price rises to a minimum in recent years, but to deliver this improved offering for users and reflect the true cost of operating Splash Planet, we will be increasing the per-person price by between $4 and $6, which will help ensure we can re-open this summer.”

The popular water park, which boasts waterslides, a lazy river, multiple pools and other activities, was closed for almost 600 days during Covid and reopened in November last year for the summer season.

The attraction received criticism from some water park users during the latest summer season over the poor state of some facilities.

Council papers issued before the...