‘A chance to reinvent Stratford’
The man driving plans for a $75 million sports and events hub in Stratford watched with a smile as district councillors voted to loan the project more than $7m to get it under way.
Neil McDonald had earlier told councillors that the Stratford Park project, as it is known, is a chance to move the district forward ‘‘on a big scale’’.
‘‘This is an opportunity to reinvent the town of Stratford,’’ he told yesterday’s extraordinary meeting of Stratford District Council.
As chair of the Stratford Agricultural and Pastoral Association (A&P) steering committee, McDonald was urging the district council to loan it $7.18m.
The A&P Association would use the money to buy two parcels of land, totalling 63 hectares, near the town’s Flint Rd showground for the proposed multi-use facility.
Stratford Park would house the A&P association as well as the regional speedway, motorsport park, horse park and event park.
However, each of the parties involved still needs to get millions of dollars to pursue their individual plans.
More than 50 spectators filled the council chambers and its extension, with some forced to stand. Smiles grew on their faces as each of the 11 elected members announced their decision in turn, voting 10/1 in favour of the loan.
Some onlookers patted McDonald on the back as the decision was reached.
Earlier, McDonald had pointed out a man in the chamber named Peter Gilbert who had travelled up from Ashburton for this weekend’s A&P show.
McDonald said the farmer had
brought up 9-10 cows with him, about 7-8 people, and was one of about 100 people who had travelled from outside the region for the show.
‘‘That’s a good example of what this project’s about,’’ McDonald said. ‘‘And that’s just for the show.
‘‘It’s not a one-trick pony.’’ Councillors had been waiting to see information including a detailed business case outlining the association’s ability to make repayments on the loan, and how such a sum would impact the council’s borrowing. The money is intended to be repaid over 40 years, but the council could reassess should it need longer.
Long-serving councillor John Sandford, who had previously called the project the most exciting thing he’d seen come across the table in 25 years, said he couldn’t fault the information the
association had provided.
‘‘I commend you highly,’’ Sandford said, before announcing he’d be voting yes.
Councillor Grant Boyde agreed with Sandford, also declaring his support.
‘‘Sometimes the biggest risk in the world is not taking one at all,’’ Boyde said. ‘‘To me the biggest risk at all is not supporting this
project. ‘‘This is wickedly cool.’’
Mayor Neil Volzke, deputy mayor Alan Jamieson and councillors Amanda Harris, Rick Coplestone, Gloria Webby, Min McKay and Jono Erwood also shared their reasons for support, and voted in favour.
But Councillor Vaughan Jones said while he was supportive of the project, he still had concerns about its finances, and voted against the loan as a result.
The meeting’s report said it is proposed that each of the parties involved will pay a land rental, currently estimated to be $4659 per hectare, to the association but the final details have yet to be worked through.
Jones said he was ‘‘struggling to see’’ how that was going to happen. He was concerned the association would be unable to pay back the council.
‘‘What’s Stratford going to say when we take the land and say the A&P show is gone?’’ Councillor Peter Dalziel, who joined the meeting via video link, has a history in banking and had been suspicious of the ‘‘risks, massive risks’’ the entire way through the loan discussions.
Despite this, he voted in favour of the loan, but named a number of conditions he wanted to see in place.
He wanted to ensure the loan was paid over a term rather than dragging out for further decades, but councillors did not support this.
The only condition of Dalziel’s that was passed was that, if the council needed to get a credit rating to borrow in the future, the association would have to contribute $25,000 towards it.
Councillor Sandford was the only elected member to vote against that condition.
Now the A&P association has been granted the loan, it must get a yes vote from 66 per cent of the association’s members at a meeting next week. The association must also find another $2m to buy a further 37 hectares for future expansion.
However, the council report states the association is unsure where the money will come from.
The report states the same about the Taranaki Speedway, which needs $9m; the Taranaki Motorsport Park, which needs $27.9m, but expects to secure $2m of that from external funders; the Taranaki Horse Park, which needs $16.5m; and the Taranaki Event Park, which needs $12.7m.
However, once the land is secure, each group will start approaching sources of funding.