Council ‘drops ball’ over Naenae Park
Tagged, vandalised and leaking shipping containers are being used as what could be the Wellington region’s worst sports facilities.
And rugby league players at Lower Hutt’s Naenae Park will be in their ‘‘temporary’’ facilities for at least another winter.
The containers were installed after the November 2016 Kaiko¯ura earthquake, when engineers declared the Hutt City Council facilities an earthquake risk.
Randwick Rugby League Club chairman Kevin Haua said initially some ‘‘grotty’’ portaloos were installed. Those were replaced by shipping containers with toilets and showers.
It is a situation that is frustrating him and he said it reflected the council’s general lack of interest in Naenae Park.
‘‘I do not know if they are mucking us around but it is not good for Randwick rugby league and it’s a blooming eyesore.’’
Randwick was struggling with just one senior team and he said the facilities were a major reason why a lot of the club’s players had joined the Avalon Rugby Club.
‘‘I don’t blame them. If they are training on a Thursday and we don’t have the key for the showers, they can’t have a shower.’’
Haua said the future of the park and its facilities needed to be looked at by the council. The ground had drainage issues and the gym, which was also used by soccer and cricket teams, needed urgent work.
‘‘’It leaks and the birds get in and build nests in the lights and we get fires in the roof.’’
Council community services manager Matt Reid said the council had a programme of work to rejuvenate the city.
‘‘As part of this work, we have invested around $20 million in new sporting facilities at Fraser Park and the Naenae Bowling Centre. We also plan to invest $7.7m in a community hub in Naenae in the next two to three years.’’
It was considering other public facilities in need of work, including those at Naenae Park.
Across the city, the council owned many old buildings like the one in Naenae. With limited budgets, it was not always possible to meet community expectations.
‘‘I do not know if they are mucking us around but it is not good for Randwick rugby league and it’s a blooming eyesore.’’ Randwick Rugby League Club chairman Kevin Haua
However, he remained committed to finding a better solution than shipping containers. ‘‘There is a general provision for public facilities in the annual budget which is yet to be allocated, and Naenae Park is part of that consideration.’’
Randwick club president Daryl Marino said the situation was unsatisfactory. He hoped a solution could be found soon.
He rejected a suggestion that with the council spending $12m on Fraser Park, in the nearby suburb of Taita, Randwick’s best long-term option would be to relocate.
‘‘We get a lot of juniors from the streets of Naenae. We are a community club.
‘‘If we move away from Naenae, the kids will not go anywhere else,’’ Marino said.
Reid said moving to Fraser Park would only happen if Randwick agreed and clubs were always ‘‘passionate’’ about their home ground.
Haua said the shipping containers made the whole park look tatty.
They had been tagged with graffiti and vandalised, and he suspected people had broken into them to sleep in.
On the day Stuff looked around, the men’s toilet smelled bad and one of the showers was leaking.