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The new LED floodlights at Warkworth Showgrounds will remain off for a little longer, as Auckland Council negotiates with a nearby landowner over easement access to a Vector transformer.
The LED lights need more power than anticipated, which means the current Vector transformer and cables need to be upgraded.
However, a landowner has objected to the modification of the cables that run through their property.
Council parks liaison team leader Gerry Fitzgerald says Council is negotiating with the landowner and hopes to gain permission so Vector can perform the upgrades. One field has had its lights deactivated to avoid system damage in case someone attempts to turn them on.
The issue has delayed the overall project, but has had no significant financial repercussions. However, geotechnical issues at the car park, next to the existing Mahurangi Rugby Club clubrooms, has cost an additional $200,000.
The topsoil and clay have been removed and replaced with hardfill metal and lime stabilisation. The car park is stable and has had drainage and lighting put in, about two months behind schedule.
Poor soils have also affected the southern car park area, one playing field, the hockey turf platform and the netball courts.
The overall showgrounds development is expected to be finished within the next decade, but timelines and budgets will not be available until November when an updated study is expected to be released.
“We’re planning to cater for big growth with this development,” Mahurangi Sport and Recreation Collective chair Mark Illingworth says. “We are makin sure that the design can be easily expanded to cater for the area’s need as it grows.”
He says discussions with all sporting bodies in the area are going well and the scope of the project is wide to incorporate as many different codes as possible.
