Twenty hectares of public land adjacent to Three Parks will be rezoned for active sport and recreation, creating the potential for a range of future sports fields and facilities for Wanaka.

The flat land off Ballantyne Road, formerly Wanaka’s oxidation (sewage) ponds, has been largely unused since the ponds were decommissioned in 2009, but in 2018 a report to council identified a shortage of winter sports fields and suggested the ponds’ large undeveloped space could meet that demand.

The council’s proposal that the land be rezoned for sports and recreational use was put forward in stage three of the Proposed District Plan.

Public opinion: sports only or sports and industrial?

Public submissions to the proposal were split fairly evenly with those in favour of the whole 20.4ha site (larger than two Pembroke Parks joined) being used for sports purposes; others thought using the entire site only for sports and recreation would be an inefficient use of the land and preferred sharing the land between sports fields and community or industrial needs. 

A panel of independent commissioners was called in to address the proposal and submissions, and it recommended to council that the entire site should be rezoned as an Active Sport and Recreation subzone (ASRZ).

In 2007 the ponds stretched across almost 7ha of land, which will need to be decontaminated before it can be repurposed. PHOTO: Supplied

Sports Central Wanaka-based community sports advisor Tiny Carruthers submitted in favour of the proposal. He said Sport Otago and Sport Central supported rezoning the full 20ha block because outdoor codes, such as football, cricket and rugby, were experiencing substantial growth in membership, especially junior players, and this amount of land would future-proof Wanaka’s sports and recreational needs.

“Having a number of fields would give them the opportunity to capture that growth for now and cater for the future. It would also give these codes the opportunity to host major tournaments,” he said. 

The spacious land also provided an opportunity for other sports codes, like gymsports, to build a fit for purpose facility, he said.

“We don’t know what sport could look like in 20 or 30 years but having 20ha gives codes opportunities,” Tiny said.

Favouring a site shared between industrial and sports needs, another group of submitters suggested the land could be roughly halved between the proposed ASRZ and a general industrial zone (GIZ).

This group referred to the 2018 council report which indicated only 8.5ha was required for sports fields, and other sports and recreation facilities would be better clustered around Wanaka’s Recreation Centre which had already planned for such eventualities.

The group also said this site was “one of the few large sites remaining in the district that could be suitable for the type of pure industrial activities anticipated by the GIZ”. Other Wanaka land zoned industrial is colocated with residential land and therefore not ideal for all permitted industrial uses, it said.

Land for a maternity unit

The Upper Clutha Maternity Services Trust also questioned the potential oversupply of land for sports purposes. The trust wanted the ASRZ to be redefined to permit other community activities, specifically a maternity unit.

Even though the land was rezoned for mixed business use, including yard-based industry, it has never been redeveloped since the ponds were decommissioned in 2009. PHOTO: Wanaka App

The panel recommended that as the ASRZ already included a list of discretionary community activities, such as a day-care centre, community centre and hall, maternity services could be added to the list.

Rezoning decision

On balance, the panel believed the entire site would be better rezoned ASRZ as it is likely to be required for sport and recreation activities as well as non-sporting festivals and other community activities/facilities into the future. 

Its location beside Three Parks’ urban centre development and within 300m of a primary school and the recreation centre and swimming pool meant it would also benefit from public transportation and be accessible by cycle and pedestrian paths, it said.

Rezoning the entire site also solved a conundrum for the council.

Decades ago, the site’s previous rural landowner was compelled to sell the land to the council under the Public Works Act. But, under the Act, if the land is no longer used for the purpose for which it was taken (the sewage ponds) it could be offered back to the original owner to buy and the council would lose ownership.

However, if the council retains the site for the benefit of the community (sports and recreation uses) then the site “can be set apart by the Minister of Lands for that new work” and council would retain ownership, a council spokesperson said.

In a full council meeting on March 18, the QLDC adopted the independent commissioners’ report and recommendations as the council’s decision to rezone all 20.4ha as ASRZ.