The Albert Town Community Association (ATCA) is bringing new energy to its long campaign for a community centre.

Over the years the ATCA has sought council support for a centre of its own but, due to funding constraints, it has not made much progress with Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) on the idea. 

It was the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board’s recent call for “big ideas” for use of the Wānaka Asset Sale Reserve Fund that revived it, ATCA chair Lucy Mitchell told the Wānaka App.

“We thought it could be a good avenue to work with,” she said. “It fits quite nicely into the guidelines for the fund.”

That is, for the fund to be spent on projects that ‘deliver enduring community benefits and contribute to legacy projects for the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Ward’.

Lucy noted the ATCA is the only community association in the Upper Clutha which did not have its own community centre.

“We have always felt it would be a great thing to have for the community,” Lucy said. “We do feel our own little sub-group of wider Wānaka.”

The ATCA envisions a flexible, multi-use space that could host gatherings, events, workshops, markets, classes, and more. It would be open to both Albert Town residents and the wider Upper Clutha area.

“It would be a place to gather and come together as a community, both for community events and in the event of an emergency,” Lucy said. 

She said the Albert Town Riverside Park facility - which residents pay to access - is useful for members but doesn’t fulfill the role a dedicated community centre would.

The ATCA is busy brainstorming and is “full of ideas” for what the community centre could offer.

It is also buoyed by the results of a recent Facebook poll which indicated strong local support for the project.

Lucy said the ATCA plans to present to the WUCCB at an upcoming meeting.

PHOTO: Wānaka App