Aquatic facility trust aims to play fair over pitches
FOOTBALLERS fear the preferred site for the new aquatic facility in Mosgiel will result in fewer pitches at Memorial Park.
But Football South and the Taieri Communities Facility Trust believe the number of pitches can be maintained with a ‘‘reshuffle’’ of fields and lighting at the park.
Trust chairwoman Irene Mosley said the trust was asking the Dunedin City Council to approve an amended site to build the new facility near the existing Mosgiel Pool, on the neighbouring Mosgiel Caravan Park.
The preferred site was amended from the Mosgiel Pool site after submissions revealed concerns about the existing pool being closed during the building of the new facility, potential parking issues and road safety concerns at the proposed entrance off Gordon Rd.
The trust believed building the facility further into the caravan park and moving the caravan park nearer to Reid Ave would mitigate those concerns.
Mosgiel Football Club member Craig Whitson said the club had about 400 members and it had concerns the trust’s preferred site for the facility would encroach on a training pitch at Memorial Park. ‘‘The club is not happy.’’
Training on the gameday pitches in winter would ‘‘destroy’’ them.
The club used to practise on Queen’s Park in Mosgiel but the training ground was sold by the council so the New World supermarket could be built.
‘‘We don’t want to lose any more land. Why should we be the scapegoat?’’
As building plans, including car parking, for the facility had not been drawn up, the public were in the dark on the potential impact.
‘‘We don’t know the footprint . . . it’s a bit of the cart before the horse — they’ll agree to a site and then design the site.’’
More information on the impact of building at the preferred site was needed before it was approved by the council.
Football South chief executive Chris Wright said Football South was ‘‘supportive and excited’’ about the ‘‘positive’’ progression by the trust.
‘‘I’m a big fan of upgrading the facility, that’s my personal opinion, but I think everyone at Football South supports all sports getting improved facilities.’’
He had talked to council staff and believed there were ‘‘a number of solutions’’ to retain the number of pitches — four senior pitches and two junior pitches — at Memorial Park.
A reconfiguration of three lighting poles would be needed to retain the pitch numbers and the quality of the experience for footballers.
He planned to meet council staff and trust members again to get a better understanding on the potential impact on the football club.
‘‘We need to make sure we are working together and, collectively, we can get a good solution.’’
Trust member Bill Feather said despite the amended site being further into Memorial Park, the amount of green space lost would be the same as if the facility were built over the existing Mosgiel Pool site.
The pitches and lighting would need to be ‘‘reshuffled’’ in Memorial Park to maintain the existing facilities for footballers, he said.
Council recreation planning and facilities manager Jendi Paterson said a report on the trust’s preferred site for the facility would be tabled at the infrastructure and network committee meeting on Monday.
‘‘Once the site is decided and the project progresses, the impact on current and future users in the area will be determined.
‘‘We’ll work with the local community and users such as the campground and sports groups to make sure they have the facilities they need.’’
Mr Whitson hoped if the preferred site were approved, the council would pay for the cost of repositioning the lights and pitches, rather than the club.
shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz