A proposal to buy or lease the former Mitre 10 building in Anderson Heights to repurpose it as a community youth centre was pitched to the Wanaka Community Board at its meeting yesterday (February 18).

A collection of interested parties, including community groups, sports advisors and project managers, has been working with Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) sport and recreation manager Simon Battrick to build the proposal. 

During public forum, Sport Otago community sport advisor Tiny Carruthers, Aspiring Gymsports’ Colleen Nisbet and Wanaka Watersport Facility Trust chair Michael Sidey, passionately encouraged the WCB members to support a proposal to secure the Mitre 10 building for the community. 

They outlined the concept, which aims to provide permanent premises for numerous community groups in need of a place they can afford to call home, including Kahu Youth, Aspiring Gymsports, Aspiring Trampolining, Snowsports NZ, the Toy Library as well as martial arts and the squash and bridge clubs.

Tiny said he started working on the proposal last year and has since identified 39 community groups and clubs looking for a home base now or within the next five years.

He said several of the organisations identified have outgrown their current premises, have children waitlisted for classes, or simply cannot afford their ever-increasing rents.

“Their future looks bleak,” he said, but the proposal to buy or lease the large Mitre 10 building, which is close to the town centre, within an easy commuting distance to three schools, has ample parking and could be available as early as April this year, might be the ideal solution.

Tiny referred to Wanaka’s proposed $73M masterplan for sports and recreation, which has been delayed by Covid-19, which was considering future purpose-built facilities based on community needs, levels of participation, sustainability and demand.

“The Mitre 10 option ticks all of these boxes,” Tiny said, adding that many of these groups couldn’t afford to wait the five to 10 years it would take for a new council facility.

“Council has some difficult decisions to make...but I ask them to consider the cost and implications of doing nothing.”

With 30 years experience in various institutions which support the needs of young New Zealanders, including as a Central Lakes Trust trustee, Michael Sidey said the Mitre 10 building poses a unique opportunity for the community “for a solution to the obvious crisis.”

He asked the elected members to consider the funding of this proposal as an investment in youth and believed it was an ideal candidate for funding from the Wanaka Asset Sale Reserve strategic fund (also known as the Scurr Heights fund).

“This fund is set aside for exactly this opportunity; unplanned, but of measurable and obvious benefit to the community,” he said.

The Central Lakes Trust and the Otago Community Trust have also been approached for funding “and this project is an attractive proposition for them because of the youth focus”, he said.

After its meeting, the WCB members gathered for a workshop on the proposal presented by Simon Battrick, but no decisions were made, he said.

Council was in discussions with the building’s owners but “no decisions or agreements have been discussed”.

“Council is very much in the preliminary state of developing options around any possible opportunity to develop a community youth/sports centre,” he said. 

“The financial analysis and options have not been fully developed and there is a wide range of funding options for council and Wanaka Community Board to consider including land sales, targeted rates and loan funding.”

Simon said he has long been an advocate for community groups working together for the best outcome for their community.

Mayor Jim Boult, who was attending the WCB meeting, said the Mitre 10 building proposal was a “unique opportunity” to provide for a lot of community groups.

“If nothing else it buys time to come up with a plan for a purpose-built facility,” he said.

PHOTO: Supplied