The former Clutha Riding for Disabled Association (RDA) owes about $60,000 in loans, rates and wages, but is expected to sacrifice owning its 3.7ha north Balclutha property, including the Litchfield Park riding arena, in exchange for getting out of financial trouble.
The Clutha District Council's district assets committee recommended last Thursday the council should buy the land for $60,000 so the group, recently re-named as Litchfield Park Therapeutic Riding Clutha branch RDA, can use that money to pay off its debt.
The committee also recommended the council enter into a contract to rent back the land to the group at a peppercorn rental. The council would also make an appointment to the group's committee as part of the deal.
Committee members en-dorsed the helping hand, saying it was a good move to try to help an organisation that provided such an important community service. Councillors believed the group still faced a tough time ahead as it relied greatly on grants for funding.
If the group failed to survive into the future, the council had secured prime land at a very low cost, right across the road from a planned new council subdivision, overlooking Balclutha, deputy mayor Hamish Anderson said.
In his report, council chief executive Charles Hakkaart said therapeutic riding services had a "real risk" of being lost to the district without help from the council or someone else.
The deal was a good one because the council would own the land but he acknowledged there was a "real risk" the group could struggle to survive "but without this help this will probably be a certainty."
The organisation was formed in 1992 to provide therapeutic riding for people with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities. The site's covered arena consists of a roof and three sides to form a three-quarter enclosed riding area.
It receives referrals from doctors, therapists, schools, kindergartens, professionals and parents.
In its draft strategic plan, the organisation said its debts had accumulated over 16 years and it reached "crisis point" six years ago.
Its financial troubles were linked to a combination of factors including unwise financial planning, disharmony within the former committee, decisions being made by an executive committee and not passed on to the full committee and work starting on major projects before grants were approved.
Mayor Juno Hayes, in moving the recommendation, said the group had "a sad history but one with a lot of goodwill".
