The proposal to repurpose Wanaka’s former Mitre 10 building in Anderson Heights into a multipurpose community facility is gaining momentum but is not a done deal yet, community sports advisor Tiny Carruthers said.

Tiny said there are a large number of community groups strongly in support of the proposal but although council staff have made a case supporting the lease of the building in the council’s draft Long-term Plan 2021-2031 (LTP) it needs the support of elected members to get it across the line.

Last week Tiny emailed many of the groups pushing for the building to be purchased or leased by the council, requesting they lobby their elected members for support.

“The councillors have told me they've had several good emails, and lots of people have said that councillors have responded positively directly to their emails,” he said.

“The council has gone to the effort of making an internal submission and they've also done a lot of work behind the scenes to get to this point but I still feel like it's in the balance”.

After receiving strong public support, Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) sport and recreation manager Simon Battrick sent an internal submission recommending a proposal to lease the building as a community and youth centre with funding to be included in the current draft LTP.

Four year olds Monty Mason and Wilbur Richmond enjoy Aspiring Gymsports mini muscles class. PHOTO:Supplied 

He said the draft Queenstown Lakes–Central Otago sub-regional recreation and sport facilities strategy clearly identified the lack of fit-for-purpose facilities in the Wanaka/Upper Clutha area, particularly for indoor sports such as gymsports and trampolining.

The draft Wanaka Recreation Centre (WRC) masterplan also suggested community support for a gymnastics ‘movement centre’ to be co-located with the WRC, but with no funding set aside in either the last LTP or the current draft LTP 2021-2031 to expand the WRC, the Mitre 10 building is considered the best short-term solution, he said.

Aspiring Gymsports has been lobbying for almost 10 years for the council to provide a suitable venue for its rapidly growing club with more than 300 members.

Founding member Rae Paterson said the club has jumped through every council hoop, attended every meeting, submitted at every opportunity, negotiated and begged for support space and funds, “so you can understand the sense of frustration and disappointment over the last decade”. 

“Our classes are full, with waiting lists; we have no room to expand, no room for proper and fit-for-purpose equipment to match the growth of our club; no parkour, no cheerleading class, no rhythmic class, no aerobics class, no circus class as we already have our after school slots filled. To be quite honest it’s very difficult to remain upbeat about our future prospects.”

Rae recently contacted every QLDC councillor with the club’s plea to agree to the Mitre 10 proposal and provide them a dedicated space and three responded with positive feedback, she said.

Similarly, community group Kahu Youth has been searching for years for a permanent home and the Mitre 10 building has been identified as a fantastic location as it is within walking and cycling distance to schools, Simon said.

Simon said his recommendation is to lease the building for 10 years with the council taking the lead on developing, staffing and managing the facility’s day-to-day operations seven days a week.   

Funding of more than $1.2M to cover fit-out costs to develop the Mitre 10 building has been included in the draft LTP but Glenorchy-based councillor Niki Gladding said, while this was “exciting” and meant council was taking the proposal seriously, no decision has been made yet to proceed.  

Tiny said the situation in Wanaka needs to be resolved urgently. The WRC “is already at capacity now” and there are no funds to expand it. He has identified 39 sports and community groups needing new facilities either immediately or within the next five years.

“The need doesn't go away. The need only grows with the population so that’s why it's just so essential that we do this Mitre 10 project,” he said.

“At the end of the day, you've got to do what you think is right. To me, it's a no brainer considering the situation that we find ourselves in.”