{"id":157649,"date":"2025-11-28T07:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T07:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/157649\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T07:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T07:26:12","slug":"plan-unveiled-for-50m-revival-of-waiwera-thermal-springs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/157649\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan unveiled for $50m revival of Waiwera Thermal Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  [&amp;_p]:tit-sub-xl tit-sub-xl md:[&amp;_p]:d-tit-sub-xl md:d-tit-sub-xl mb-[1.3rem]\">A concept design for a $50 million development to revive Waiwera Thermal Springs has been revealed after seven years of closure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Resource consent for the project, led by Waiwera Thermal Springs Property LP which signed an agreement to acquire the site from Urban Partner, will be lodged with Auckland Council on December 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The redevelopment plan aimed to restore the geothermal attraction to a world-class bathing and wellness destination.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The design included 28 pools and wellness experiences such as saunas, reflexology, gardens, walks and pavilions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Waiwera had been open in various forms since the 1800s. The operation closed in 2018 before being demolished in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/waiwera-had-been-open-in-various-forms-since-the-1800s-the-o-ML56DYBASJAURGRNHY6MS5P2CM.jpg\" alt=\"Waiwera had been open in various forms since the 1800s. The operation closed in 2018 before being demolished in 2023.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">Waiwera had been open in various forms since the 1800s. The operation closed in 2018 before being demolished in 2023. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Waiwera Thermal Springs director Brandon Batagol said the vision was to reconnect visitors with the area\u2019s geothermal heritage and native landscape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;This will be a place of genuine replenishment where wellness grows from nature. We\u2019ve taken the utmost care to deliver a plan that honours the environment while bringing social and economic benefits to the region.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown endorsed the proposal, calling it a welcome investment in the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">&#8220;This has my full backing. Natural springs are a treasure and should be treated as such. I believe this development honours that. It complements the attractions we already have and those in the pipeline.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-redevelopment-plan-aimed-to-restore-the-geothermal-attra-MZOJEI2ZLNGUPFRPC7TGRWOQ7U.jpg\" alt=\"The redevelopment plan aimed to restore the geothermal attraction to a world-class bathing and wellness destination.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-hi5x8q-0 cWTYyG image-metadata\">The redevelopment plan aimed to restore the geothermal attraction to a world-class bathing and wellness destination. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">The new Waiwera Thermal Springs was expected to attract more than 310,000 visitors and generate around $300 million in its first five years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Ng\u0101ti Manuhuri, who held deep ancestral connections to Waiwera, were development partners on the project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Batagol said the iwi\u2019s relationship with the land and geothermal waters guided the vision from the start.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">\u201cWe recognise this land and water as part of a living whakapapa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">Developers say they look forward to progressing the consent process and reopening Waiwera\u2019s mineral-rich hot pools to the public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-paragraph articleLinkText  lg mb-4\">\u201cIn time, when we are ready to welcome visitors, we want them to come for the calm and stay for the connection,\u201d Batagol said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A concept design for a $50 million development to revive Waiwera Thermal Springs has been revealed after seven&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[51,42,43,40,38,41,39,10097],"class_list":{"0":"post-157649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-auckland","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories","15":"tag-tourism"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}