A project to help rejuvenate the Horowhenua town of Foxton will receive a Provincial Growth Fund investment of $3.86 million, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.
"This funding for the Foxton Regeneration project will be used to make the well-known holiday town even more attractive for visitors and create employment opportunities in the region," Shane Jones said.
Horowhenua District Council will use the funding to build more visitor amenities. It will also be used for dredging and riparian planting on the Foxton River Loop section of the Manawatu to add another attraction and accelerate planning for the next phases of the town's regeneration project.
"The PGF-funded Foxton Futures report and an investigation of the economic impact of improving the local river showed a strong community commitment to a sustainable future that would enable growth in the town.
"This project will also have a positive environmental impact, as the area is home to estuary and migratory wildlife that will benefit from a healthier river environment.
"I am pleased to be announcing funding that enables the Foxton community to make progress towards the brighter, more sustainable future they have advocated for," Shane Jones said.
There have been some successful initiatives in Foxton already, including improving the general environment in the main street and the funding and opening of the Te Awahou Nieuwe Community Centre - a Dutch and Māori community collaboration housing museums celebrating local Māori and European (particularly Dutch) history and identity.
The town also has its iconic Dutch windmill, while the Ramsar (a system for designating wetland sites of international importance) wetland near Foxton Beach is an internationally recognised area with the most diverse range of birds to be seen in any one place in New Zealand.
