Moutere Hills Community Pathway - The History

Read here about the history of the project so far:

A NEW COMMUNITY CENTRE

By the late 1990s the existing Upper Moutere Community Hall was on its last legs; it was beyond further upgrade and no longer capable of meeting the needs of the expanding Moutere Hills Community.

The initial push to replace the hall was led by members of the Rangers Rugby Club who had for some time kept the old hall going, and their enthusiasm was soon shared by the wider community. A series of public meetings were well attended and a committee formed to guide the project through the planning and construction stages.

One of the first decisions to be made was to agree on the most suitable location for the new hall. There was some support for the view that the new multi-purpose hall should be built closer to the village and school rather than down the main highway, where access by foot or bicycle was seen  to be dangerous and restricting. Vacant land near the church was mooted.

While the problem of safe access from the village was accepted, it was finally agreed that the Memorial Domain was the most appropriate choice, mainly due to the availability of suitable land for expansion of playing fields and tennis courts. The presence of the recently constructed Rangers amenities block was also considered a plus. It was recognised that the hall was to service the wider Moutere Hills Community and not just the village and school.

THE PATHWAY

To mitigate the problem of dangerous access from the village, it was proposed that a separate pathway be constructed, away from the main highway. However, the pathway project assumed low priority while the committee was occupied with designing, fundraising and managing the construction, followed by the establishment of a suitable structure to manage the new facility.

At a strategic planning workshop in 2008 the idea of the pathway was again considered and supported. However that meeting concluded that the pathway project was outside the brief of the Community Centre Management Committee, and was best handled by some other Community Group.

In 2010, a group of local cyclists began to look independently at the possibility of constructing a loop track to tie in with the proposed National Cycle Trail (locally the Tasman Great Taste Trail). The loop was to include access between the hall and the village, but the project remained in the planning stage.

A NEW COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

In 2012 following two public meetings, the Moutere Hills Residents Association was formed. The Association chose as their first major community project to facilitate the construction of the walk and cycle pathway to safely connect the Upper Moutere Village and school with the Moutere Hills Community Centre, the Memorial Domain and the Country Kids Child Care Centre.

The pathway is proposed to be more than just a safe access-way between these important sites in the community; rather it is planned to be a scenic and enjoyable attraction in its own right, providing a continuing source of rich experience for residents and visitors alike.

Return to Community Pathway.