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Francesca Rudkin: The Ruapehu District needs the Chateau to be saved · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now I am so pleased to see that. New Zealand
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Business Herald journalist Kate McNamara continues to ride about the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: woes in the rue pay Who district. Why because the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: ruapey Who region has been hit hard with indecision around
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: two ski fields. The sudden closure of the chateau two
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: years ago, followed by the loss of over two hundred
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: jobs when Windstone's pump, pulp and timber mills shut down
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: late last year, the region has taken a beating through
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: no fault of their own. Yesterday, McNamara focused on the
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: issues surrounding the majestic Chateau Tongurero Hotel, which has been
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: sitting in a derelict state for two years. It's a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: sad sight at the base of RuPay Who. I don't
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: know if you've seen it recently. A desolate chateau, the
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: golf course over growing, an empty building surrounding it. The
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: area feels quietly paused in time, with no sense of
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: if and when it may spring back to life. Fokobaba
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Holdings Limited, the company and the process of buying the
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Fockapuba ski field, is keen to discuss the future of
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the chateau with government officials. They're interested in taking on
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: historic shadow, reviving it, providing employment, an increase in tourism,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: offering some economic stability for the region. The problem is
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: no one is really interested in talking to them. As
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: we've learnt with the ski fields, this is a complicated
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: region that requires sensitive conversations between government, the Department of
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Conversation EWI, and other stakeholders. It was a struggle to
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: find the consensus over the ski fields, with some preferring
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: the continuation of a not for profit organization such as
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: the previous operator Ral, others preferring to hand things over
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: to private operators. Along the way, a lot of government
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: money was put into keeping the ski fields afloat until
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: it got to the point where the fields were too
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: expensive to fail, as was the prospect of closing them down,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: removing all destructures from the mountain and returning it to
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: its natural state. Getting the chateau up and running again
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: is going to cost millions of dollars, but on the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: right term, such as a thirty year lease in a
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: peppercorn rent, WHL will be willing to make the investment.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: They've also done the research into the earthquake strengthening Lohich
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: needs to be done and believe it is not as
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: extensive as previously suggested. Look, this might not be the
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: deal which makes everyone happy, but frankly I don't see
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: anyone else queuing up to give it a go. Leaving
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: the chateau empty and decaying for years, possibly decades, at
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: the cost of around one hundred and fifty to two
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars a month for maintenance when a possible
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: solution sits on the table is simply depressing. The government
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: needs to deal with the least termination agreement and pay
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: the previous operators, reopen expressions of interest and have some conversations.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Talking is almost always a good place to start, so
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: please take the call Luapa, who is an incredible part
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: of our country and one that deserves to be thriving.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: For more from early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: to News Talks it be from five am weekdays, or
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.