At Tuesday's Queenstown Lakes District Council community services committee meeting, councillors considered a community services general manager Paul Wilson's recommendation that small businesses leasing premises or which had built their premises without council support receive a 66% discount when using council-owned venues.
He also recommended extending credit to groups which had contributed to capital improve-ments, such as the Millbrook Cricket Club, which built the cricket pitch at the corner of the Millbrook property.
Charges for multisport events would also be considered along with reduced sports field charges for junior sport, which would benefit users of Lakes Leisure rugby and football fields, grass and artificial cricket wickets and volleyball courts.
The council adopted its community pricing policy in June.
The original agreement was that charitable community users should pay the least for venue use, while commercial users should pay the most.
Since June, several sports and non-sporting groups have asked to be exempted from sports facility charges and venue hire fees.
Lakes District Sports User Group spokesman Craig Ferguson said the review was too soon, as the group had only just finished dealing with the community pricing policy issued in June.
"I'm surprised to see it being addressed again so soon.
"It runs the risk of driving angst into the sports and rec community."
The user group had been a driving force behind the initial community pricing policy and the latest version "looks messy", Mr Ferguson said.
"It seems to me that they [Lakes Leisure] are attempting to pull every penny out of the cracks that they can."
He said he had not been informed of Mr Wilson's recommendation to the committee, but was not surprised by it.
"It appears that leopards don't change their spots."
If changes to the community pricing policy are adopted they will come into effect on October 1.
