The Hastings District Council’s sports park project is the current political hot potato in Hawke’s Bay and as you would expect there are widely differing views.
The athletics track is down and for my dough the grandstand should be built to complete that stage of the project. The funding for that has largely been provided by the sale of Nelson Park.
The next stage of the project is the provision of tennis courts, netball courts and soccer grounds.
Clearly the Hastings District Council would like the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the Napier City Council to help with funding this stage – hence the reason the project is now called the Regional Sports Park. It is my view that Napier has done a great job in providing facilities for these sports and has plenty of available land at Park Island for expansion. Why would we spend Napier Ratepayers money on facilities almost 15km away – facilities that are clearly planned to attend to the deficit in such facilities in Hastings.
It might sound like I am against co-operation between the two cities and that is far from the case. Napier is in the process of a very expensive upgrade of McLean Park and there is no more regional facility in the province than that iconic venue. We are doing our bit for regional facilities.
Much is being made of the impact on communities the sports park will have. We are told that we will see a reduction in obesity – reduction in smoking and a general improvement in the health of the most vulnerable in our society.
Surely if that is the aim then the facilities should be put into the communities not out in the middle of nowhere. Many of the “at risk” groups will not be able to afford to travel to the sports park let alone pay the facility fees.
We are told that there will be plenty of facilities to encourage the oldest amongst us to engage in physical activities. Again wouldn’t those facilities be better in the communities where the elderly live. The mind boggles at the thought of all those zimmer frames and mobility scooters heading across the expressway.
Personally I am yet to be convinced that the Napier City Council should commit our ratepayer’s money to this project. We have not been consulted nor had any input into the make-up of the facility. It is clearly a Hastings District Council project and I wish them every success with it.
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