FEB 2022 - ISSUE 2
STAKEHOLDER NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the second of our regular updates. The team at Stratford Park have been working hard over the last few months so here is a snapshot of what has been happening.
The Farm
Several crops of hay have been taken from the area that was not planted in Maize. The Maize has grown exceptionally well over the dry summer we have had, so will be ready for Harvest in March. Several culverts have been reinstated and fences rebuilt, the attention will now move to cleaning out the old effluent ponds.
Motorsport
With the advent of Covid, the speedway season has been put on hold, this was extremely disappointing for the Stock Car Club and the Stratford A&P, as this is traditionally the major income stream for both groups The car show planned for early March has also been cancelled, again due to Covid related issues. We hope to reschedule this for later in the year.
Equestrian
The plans for stage one of the new equestrian component of the park have been drawn up and work is now underway confirming the costings and developing a project plan. Stage 1 includes both a grass and sand outdoor arena as well as tie up facilities. These facilities will be built on the southern side of Flint Road. Several bridle trail events have been held and attracted good attendances. These take riders across most of the property and will be extended as the next land purchases are made.
Governance
Over the last few months the guidelines for the way the Stratford Park will be governed and operated have been developed, and have now been signed off by the key partners to the project; Taranaki Stock Car Club, Stratford A&P, Taranaki & South Taranaki Car Clubs, Drag Racing Taranaki. The guidelines have now been compiled into the “Stratford Park Founding Document”.
What's coming up
Capital Raise
In the coming months a capital raise will take place to secure funds for the final areas of land required for the motorsport component of the facility. The total funds required are $4m and to protect funders interests, this will be secured by a mortgage over the property.
We originally aimed to have this completed by April 2022 however with the advent of Covid this has been extended to July 2022.
Community facilities
Over the past 12 months we have worked to ensure the strategic plans for Equestrian, A&P, Motorsport were developed to a point were we could identify the total land required by each. We are now turning our minds to finalising the other key component of the project, the Community facilities.
These may include, nature reserves, educational facilities, walkways, playgrounds and other community facilities. Prior to Covid we intended to hold several community meetings to discuss these initiatives, however these will now be deferred until we return to the green level. In the meantime if you have any suggestions for things that could be included in these areas please let us know.
As always we welcome and suggestions or questions, please email chairman@stratfordpark.co.nz
