Seal of approval for car park plans
Potholes, dust and puddles will be a thing of the past at Marlborough’s new sports hub, the council says.
Tenders are open to upgrade and seal Lansdowne Park’s main car parking area, and to install new netball courts and a new stormwater drain.
Deputy mayor Terry Sloan said there had been complaints about the condition of the car park for years, especially when it rained.
‘‘It’s never been sealed,’’ he said.
The park hosts rugby in winter and touch rugby, junior cricket, softball and sand volleyball in summer. By 2018, it will also feature netball courts.
The council was looking at a staged $4.8 million development over the next 10 to 15 years which could bring rugby, touch, softball, netball and athletics together.
The Marlborough District Council also announced on Tuesday it had approved a budget of $276,000 to cover a new parking area on the western boundary of the park, where the council was leasing land from the Central Rugby Club.
The council was originally planning to spend only $200,000 creating parking for at least 70 vehicles on the western side of the park.
However, the soft ground and high water table meant more work was needed to avoid future problems with cracking surfaces.
Sloan said the extra $76,000 would come from the profits of the council’s residential subdivision.
‘‘Here’s another example of how our community amenities get the direct benefit of council section sales at Boulevard on Taylor,’’ he said.
‘‘We don’t have to ask ratepayers to put their hands in their pockets to pay for something that all our sports families will be pleased to see; better parking at Lansdowne Park.’’
Sloan said he expected the netball courts to be finished before the car park was completed.
Marlborough Netball board chair Beth Tester said once the courts were installed, it would be ‘‘fantastic’’ for netballers to have a car park which was properly laid out and which provided a point for families to drop off younger children.
Harlequins Rugby Club is based at Lansdowne Park.
Club coach Pete Watson said Harlequins would welcome the council sealing the park right up to their clubrooms.
Work on the new car park outside the Central clubrooms, on the western side of the park, was due to begin in September.