Dunstan High School’s Sally Mullally said the grant, included in the council’s long-term plan, meant the project to convert unfit-for-purpose tennis courts to a multisport surface could now move forward.
"It’s an area of the school that isn’t being well utilised at the moment," Ms Mullally said.
"The tennis courts are all broken and they’re not safe for use."
The $1.5million project, led by Molyneux Turf Incorporated, would deliver a sports space on Ministry of Education land that would be used by students during school hours and the wider community outside of school hours.
"To me, that makes sense," Ms Mullally said.
"It’s very exciting, and I commend the council for investing in our youth and in our community."
Dunstan High School principal Andrew King said the project was unlikely to have advanced beyond the planning stages without the council’s funding commitment.
For now, discussions continue with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders and Mr King would not be drawn on any construction start date.
"The Ministry of Education ...has several processes we need to complete before we can proceed further.
"That said, the feedback so far has been very positive and encouraging, and we’re hopeful about the path ahead.
"At this stage, I won’t speculate on a timeline for completion — there are too many variables still at play to give a realistic estimate."
The turf proposal was canvassed in the council’s long-term plan consultation document, attracting more than 300 submissions from under 18-year-olds.
"It’s a powerful and important message to our young people that their voices matter and that decisions are shaped by those who step forward and speak up," Mr King said.
The grant is slated to come from Vincent general reserves this financial year.
Hockey, football, rugby, futsal and cricket are all expected to be played on the turf.
A separate grant for an artificial turf project was also included in the long-term plan after deliberations last week — $200,000 has been earmarked in the Maniototo Reserve Contributions Fund in the 2026-27 financial year for a similar multisport surface proposed for Maniototo Area School.
