Communities devastated at proposed cuts to parks and pools

Tuesday, 7 November 2023

Councillor Ben McNulty says it would be “simply not good enough” for council to go back on its promise to upgrade Grenada North Park, which has been in the works for more than a decade.

Long-awaited upgrades to Wellington pools, parks and other facilities which finally looked like they were happening are now in doubt due to the state of council finances.

The many proposed cuts in the city council’s long-term plan, stretching far and wide across Wellington’s suburbs, have been called a disaster, “simply not good enough”, and difficult to fathom.

Last week, Wellington City Council released papers showing the changes it would need to make to its capital programme in order to save on funds and avoid drastic rates increases. The plan ‒ which will not be finalised until 2024 ‒ outlined a catalogue of projects, mainly in the suburbs, that could get the chop.

Mazz Scannell from Friends of the Botanic Garden says the gardens are a place where the council should be willing to invest. (File photo)

In the Botanic Garden, the council proposes to push back the upgrade of the greenhouse and provide less regular maintenance for parks.

Mazz Scannell from Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden said it would be a disaster if the council pushed back the upgrade of the greenhouse, known as Begonia House, which houses many exotic plants including the famously stinky corpse plant.

The building had been there for 60 years. “We all need some work done when we’re 60,” she said.

Deferring the upgrades into the future would only increase the costs when the council did eventually get around to it, Scannell said.

Ongoing problems with the Grenada North Park sportsfields flooding in the rain might not be solved, as the council pushes an upgrade further into the future. (File photo)

The Botanic Gardens gave a “colossal payback to Wellington” with more than a million visitors each year. “Everybody loves the Botanic Gardens … We want the council to put it first on the list.”

One proposal would see children’s football matches continue to be cancelled because of a boggy pitch, by delaying the long-awaited upgrade to Grenada North Park.

The sports park has poor drainage and there are no options for home games when the ground becomes too muddy to play, which is common in winter.

“When wet weather hits, the Grenada fields are unusable and local clubs are facing perpetual cancellations due to a lack of all-weather facility availability in the area,” councillor Ben McNulty said.

The local community is behind plans for Huetepara Park at the eastern end of Lyall Bay, but the council could pull funding.

The upgrade had been signed off just months ago and it was “simply not good enough” to put it on the chopping block, especially when it had already been delayed by a decade.

Just months ago the council sent flyers to local residents which said the council was starting design of turf renewal and considering how to improve facilities.

In Lyall Bay, the community-led Huetepara Park would be left in the lurch if council’s $1.7 million of funding was pulled.

Christian Bonnevie, a local resident and member of the committee, said the community would be devastated if the council pulled funding.

The plan was to upgrade a disused lot down the industrial end of Lyall Bay and transform it into an accessible park with a boardwalk, viewing platform and toilets.

Khandallah Pool is famous for its end-of-season dogs in togs event, but it might not get the $11m upgrade it needs.

“If they walk back the funding, it’ll be tough to hear that and keep a smile on our faces.”

Bonnevie believed the project was not dead yet ‒ it was well-supported by local councillors and he hoped they could convince the rest of council it was worth the “chicken feed” price tag.

“The park is a long way down the track, it’s shovel-ready, we know the budget is not going to increase. It’s the wrong project to chip money off.”

Another project facing the guillotine on Thursday is the Khandallah Pool. The unheated outdoor pool was set to be cut last year until an amendment from councillor Diane Calvert put plans to renovate it back into action.

Lawrence Collingbourne, president of the Onslow Residents’ Community Association, said it was difficult to grasp why the council would consider cancelling the pool upgrade.

The council had not spent any money on the pool in decades, leaving it in its decrepit state with low usage rates.

He believed much of the $11.5m cost to upgrade the pool was for remediating the site and diverting the nearby stream, both of which would have to be completed regardless of whether the pool was strengthened.

This left only a “handful of millions” to spend on the pool itself, and Wellington would be rewarded with a unique summer pool in close proximity to parks. To cancel it would be “depriving us of significant amenity, not just for Onslow but for the whole city”.

The council will decide on the broad outline of the long-term plan, including a decision on whether these projects are likely to be in or out, at a committee meeting on Thursday.