Wanaka Stadium decision urged on council

Two former Queenstown Lakes district councillors are pleading with their successors to stop dithering and make a decision on where Wanaka's sports stadium should be sited, before local body elections later this year.

Retired accountant Peter Gray and pharmacist Aaron Heath, both of Wanaka, have rarely been seen in public forums since they stood down from local body politics in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

Both were prompted to attend yesterday's Wanaka Community Board meeting to plead for the stadium to be sited on the showgrounds.

In recent months, a groundswell of public support for a greenfield site on the outskirts of town has gained considerable traction and last week the council agreed to investigate those alternative sites one more time.

"I rarely get stirred up, but when I do, I like to get my two bob in," Mr Gray said yesterday.

He said he was not appearing on behalf of any particular interest group but hoped he represented the community in saying it was time for decisive action from the council.

"Putting on my accountant's hat, I can tell you that any greenfields purchase will seriously reduce the capital for other projects in this community . . .

"And I can foresee difficulty in raising the capital for projects because of the lack of development contributions coming forward in the last two years," Mr Gray said.

Mr Gray said he agreed very strongly with the sentiments expressed in an Otago Daily Times editorial on Monday, which concluded the time make a decision was rapidly approaching.

"I urge to the board you close the [Lakeview Holiday Park] camp in 2010, you locate the aquatic centre on Kelly's Flat and you use the showgrounds to accommodate the rugby club, the A&P Show society and the sports complex . . .

"And I can tell you now, any further delays will not be acceptable to this community," Mr Gray said.

Mr Heath said he endorsed Mr Gray's comments.

An election was coming up later this year and it could be quite some time before a new council could make a decision.

The council should not pass the buck to newly-elected members and anything the board could do before the end of this term would be highly beneficial to the community, Mr Heath said.

The council has instructed its general manager of community services, Paul Wilson, to investigate greenfield sites further and come up with an outline plan for the showgrounds site.

A timeframe has not been set to complete that work, although board chairman Lyal Cocks told the ODT this week he hoped the work could be done within the next two months.

• Local body elections will be held on October 9.