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An artist’s impression of the multisports centre exterior.
A preliminary floor plan for Stage 1 of the centre.
Proposed location of the multisports centre at the Showgrounds near the State Highway 1 entrance.
Auckland Council officers will present reports to the Rodney Local Board this week on whether a multisport centre should be built at Warkworth Showgrounds.
Officers will inform the board on the merits of granting a lease and landowner approval for the facility proposed by the Mahurangi Sport and Recreation Collective.
The Board will then make a decision on whether it gives permission for the proposed sports centre to be sited at the Showgrounds, which is on Auckland Council land.
The lease and landowner approval issues are separate from the Council resource consent application for the facility, which the Collective filed at the end of January.
Earlier this month, Collective spokesperson Nicola Jones outlined preliminary plans of what the centre might look to the Warkworth Area Liaison Group, but stressed changes were inevitable as the Collective was still meeting with local sports clubs around their wants and needs.
Current plans for the multisport facility show a building that will be developed in two stages.
Stage 1 will be able to house a basketball court, indoor netball court (also used for futsal), volleyball court, four badminton courts and a gym.
In addition, there will be space allocated for storage, a staff room, changing rooms and toilets.
Stage 2 will feature additional multi-purpose indoor courts and sports clubrooms.
The plan is for the gym in stage 1 to be set up permanently with equipment such as ropes, rings, bars, beams and a trampoline, so that equipment does not need to be hauled in and out of storage for each gym session.
Currently, the Mahurangi Gymnastics Club, which plans to use the proposed centre, is obliged to use facilities at Mahurangi College and is required to set up and take down equipment before and after each meeting.
A floor in the middle of the gym (possibly sprung) will cater for other activities such as yoga, tai chi and baby sensory classes.
Nicola said there was a particular need for additional basketball courts, reflecting the burgeoning interest in the sport and the huge demand for courts.
She said Harbour Sport estimated there was already a deficit of about 20 courts north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Nicola said the rapid projected growth in Warkworth made the need for a multisport facility all the more urgent.
“The growth strategy for Warkworth indicates the population will reach 25,000 by 2030 – well, that’s not that far away now. Where are all those people going to play sport?” she said.
“The plan is to have stuff set up early before people get here – with good systems and processes already in place.”
Nicola said the showgrounds were an ideal venue – instead of parents having to drive all over town to take their children to sports, many of them would be combined in one place. Moreover, there was good pathway access from neighbouring schools and plenty of parking.
She said currently sporting facilities in Warkworth were limited.
Mahurangi College was starting to encroach on its existing sportsfields to use them for other purposes, and clubs using the College’s sports facilities after hours were under pressure to find alternative venues.
The Collective’s hope is that it will be able to secure sufficient funding to begin construction of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the multisport facility at the same time, thereby minimising costs. It estimates around $5 million will be required to construct Stage 1, but has yet to firm up costs for Stage 2.
In 2018, the Rodney Local Board provided the Collective with $150,000 to get the project to the resource consent stage. Last year, Auckland Council awarded the Collective a further $2.25 million from its Sport and Recreation Facility Investment Fund to progress the project.
Nicola said the Collective had already been talking to private funders “off-the-record” to secure the rest of the money for construction and said there was considerable excitement about it.
She said funders were likely to come fully on board when and if Auckland Council granted the resource consent and the Rodney Local Board granted landowner approval.
She hoped people in the local community would get behind the project in much the same way they got behind Tui House – the Harbour Hospice care facility in Warkworth.
In addition to the multisport facility, the Collective is also preparing a separate resource consent application for a bike and skate park, also at the Showgrounds. Plans for the park include a learn-to-ride area, asphalt pump track and downhill mountain bike runs. Preliminary estimates suggest it will cost $1.8 million.
