Grandstand supporters rejoice after about face
Grandstand supporters were rejoicing yesterday as news sunk in that a wrecking ball won’t be taken to their more-than 100 year-old building.
For over two years, Golden Bay residents have been fighting the Tasman District Council’s decision to demolish the Golden Bay grandstand at the new recreation park centre in Takaka.
But the fight to secure their history appears to finally be over, with council on Thursday making a u-turn in its decision.
Grandstand Restoration Society chairman Noel Baigent said the groups wanting to save it would have to work together now.
‘‘The trust and society have both had the same goal, just different ways of achieving it. But we will work together.’’
First they would secure the lease, then look at funding and work with council staff. ‘‘Let’s talk together rather than fighting each other. We know there’s the Resource Management Act, a lot of government policy to meet, and at the end of the day we have to accept that.’’
He said the feeling on Thursday at the full council meeting, in which councillors voted unanimously to rescind their earlier decision to demolish, was one of ‘‘astonishment’’.
‘‘All morning it went backwards and forwards, but at the end of the day the councillors knew that the people of Golden Bay were really serious … they knew it wasn’t just protesters protesting for the sake of it.’’
Jill Pearson of the grandstand trust, who has been braving freezing conditions and sleeping in the old building for several weeks with dozens of other protesters, said the feeling amongst people at the grandstand was one of relief.
‘‘Relief first and foremost that it might be the beginning of the end.’’
Pearson said she and others would not stop occupying the grandstand over the weekend.
‘‘We need to wait for the news to filter through. We haven’t really had any discussion about it at all, I guess a lot of it will be to see how it goes.’’
She said the outcome had showed the protest had worked.
‘‘It’s had this tremendous coming together of genuinely good souls of the community. I’ve been going home [from sleeping in the grandstand] feeling happy and great, the continual stream of goodwill.’’