A draft of Great South’s Bluff Tourism Master Plan will be presented to Invercargill city councillors during a performance, policy and partnership committee meeting tomorrow.
The document detailed the importance of Bluff and its potential to be a vibrant hub "for the local community first and foremost, as well as for its visitors."
It identified 11 hubs or
precincts in the region to be explored — Bluff Gateway Entrance Hub, Ocean Beach Aquaculture Precinct, Heritage Landscape Precinct, Community Recreation Precinct, Active Recreation Precinct, Bluff Central Tourism Precinct, Commercial Precinct, Stirling Point Precinct, Bluff Hill Motupohue Lookout Hub, South Port Hub and Wider Bluff Area.
The Ocean Beach precinct would be an important part of the project as its owners wanted to create New Zealand’s foremost land-based aquaculture park.
They wanted to establish a "world-class hatcheries for both finfish and shellfish" and also a retail area showcasing Southland arts, crafts and produce in the area.
"There will be an obvious focus on seafood," the document said.
The famous Bluff gateway entrance signage could also be relocated to create a stronger point of entry.
Improvements at the "Stirling Point" — home of the well known Bluff’s signpost — would also be proposed.
It suggests a “Park and Ride” service from the Bluff Central Tourism Precinct car park to Stirling Point to help reduce parking congestion, improve safety and create better walking trail links for local users.
Among a range of projects to "revamp" the town were the upgrade and expansion of coastal walking tracks, the completion of the Bluff to Invercargill cycle trail/Te Araroa trail, development of the Bluff Southern Marine Discovery Centre and the construction of a potential public ocean pool.
Great South will undertake consultation on the plan with the community until January next year.
