Rejuvenation of Whanganui’s William Birch Reserve misses out on council funding

A group dedicated to upgrading the William Birch Reserve is pressing on despite not receiving funding from Whanganui District Council.

The reserve, located near Pākaraka and housing a former public swimming pool filled with silt, is owned by the council.

Friends of the William Birch Pool Reserve founder Richard White said while it was unlikely to ever be fit for swimming again, the pool needed to be cleared out.

It has not been emptied for at least a decade.

Residents wanted to contribute to the project, White said.

“I think there is an opportunity for our [Friends] group to take the headache away from council a bit,” he said.

“Then, the numbers that were put to the council as part of the submission could be pruned back.”

The Whanganui West Catchment Group presented a funding proposal to the council’s aspirations and projects committee last year.

Track work and an initial pool clean-out required $80,000, with $7000 for signage design and installation, $15,000 for yearly maintenance work and $3000 to fix the reserve’s boundary fence.

After that, $25,000 was needed for yearly silt removal for the first five years, then $15,000 each year after that.

The proposal, one of 21 community initiatives considered for funding, did not make the cut for the council’s Long-Term Plan (LTP) for 2024-2034.

White said the council was the missing link in the project and it could not “just walk away”.

“The hardest thing about running a community project or group is funding,” he said.

“If we could just get a little bit of ratepayer money back on an annual basis, we can be charged with the responsibility of applying that money and looking after that asset.

“Because it’s in our backyard, we’ll do it with more pride.”

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the pool had heritage value to the community, “but we’ve had to make some tough calls”.

He said currently, the council was really constrained regarding what it could and couldn’t do.

“The first few years of the LTP are about keeping things affordable, but I would love to understand how we as a council can partner with the community to deliver on community projects,” he said.

“It goes without saying that it would be great to see the William Birch Pool back up and running again.

“Let’s keep progressing towards something that would make it work for the future.”

A Rotary Club would soon run a working bee to tidy up bush walks at the reserve, White said.

“Things are happening and the community wants to keep it going.

“It’s a beautiful area, and it has historic significance as well. Back in the tough times of the 1930s, the Birch family developed it as a means of giving employment to the locals.

“I’m not saying we all need to go down there with wheelbarrows and shovels, but we are going through similar times now.”

Ototoka Stream runs through the reserve and pool.

The catchment group is monitoring water quality bimonthly on both sides of the pool.

Spokeswoman Natasha de Rose said it fully supported Friends of the William Birch Reserve.

“We are hoping to work with the farmers above the pool to help reduce the sediment load going into the pool in the first place,” she said.

“If we can demonstrate that landowners on either side are taking care of their bits, then maybe [the council] can take care of their bit.”

Hapū Ngāti Maika is in the process of planting bush from Pākaraka Pā to the stream.

White said once that was established, the area would be “a really significant entry” into Whanganui.

Speaking at a Whanganui Rural Community Board meeting last year, hapū representative Raymond Kotuku Hina said all parties needed to work together.

“It would be premature to continue to move on individually,” he said.

“I can speak confidently to say we would be more than happy to be a practical partner with everyone else – landowners, the council, whoever else is available.”

White will speak about the reserve during hearings on the council’s LTP, scheduled for May 14-16.

He said his group represented a large portion of the community.

“This isn’t just Ric White canvassing the council again and again, waving flags and protesting.

“It’s wider than our Pākaraka area too. People in Whanganui love this place.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.