Waitati builder Mark Spencer and partner Annie Naylor, with dogs Kodi and Chiko, on the site where they plan to build an accommodation lodge as part of the nearby Waitati Valley Equestrian Centre. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN
"I’m rapt. It’s 'Yeah, let’s go for it'," he said.
Mr Spencer, of Waitati, said yesterday his daughter, Rachel Spencer, had helped run the centre for about the past six years.
It already provided training facilities — including an Olympic-size dressage area — which were also being further developed.
Permission to build the twin-level lodge in Waitati Valley Rd would not only boost the centre but also add further tourist accommodation to Waitati, which was attracting growing numbers of visitors.
The lodge would be "like a medieval hall", combining individual rooms with more open, shared spaces, and offering short or longer-term accommodation.
