The Wanaka Rowing Club is emerging as piggy-in-the-middle as community debate about buildings on the resort's lakefront heats up.
The club has been searching for several years for a clubhouse site and last year sought approval for a lease over a portion of lakeside reserve hidden in trees near Tapley's Paddock.
However, the Wanaka Community Board recently asked the club to erect profile poles on a highly visible site at the end of of MacDougall St, because some members supported former mayor Clive Geddes' opinion, expressed last year, that the community should expect to see water sports clubs by the lake.
It has now emerged the council has no guidelines on what sort of character a lakefront building might have, should it ever approve one.
Further, many members of the Wanaka Rowing Club do not support the MacDougall St site. Wanaka Rowing Club coach Dave Varney yesterday said he and other club members had met council officers this week to discuss negative public feedback since the poles went up.
The club "definitely" felt caught in the middle but had "probably been a bit naughty" installing the poles before the council was ready to call for submissions. At least it had got the process started, he said.
"All we are after is a lease on some land by the water so we can build a clubroom. We want it somewhere. There are more people in the club opposed to MacDougall St. That wasn't our first choice. The council has taken that into consideration," Mr Varney said.
Wanaka Community Board chairman Lyal Cocks yesterday said he had received "overwhelming feedback" from people opposed to lakefront buildings. Formal submissions should be called for next week.
Radio Wanaka's website this week reported 82% of respondents to a poll were opposed to lakefront buildings.
Wanaka open spaces campaigner Loris King is on the warpath and this week advertised in opposition to the MacDougall St site in a community newsletter. She said she favoured the rowing club's being along the Millennium Track, perhaps at Morrows Mead.
Mr Cocks said another site option near Stoney Creek was now being worked on by the board, and the club and details should be released next week.
APL, the QLDC's property management contractor, will manage the consultation process.
APL director Jo Conroy yesterday said she felt sorry for the club.
Last year, she recommended the lease over the Tapley Paddock site be approved.
"The poor rowing club has tried so many locations for their clubhouse and people are always finding fault with it."
