Call for water-based sports hub
The $8 million needed to refurbish the Petone wharf would better be used to build a water-based sports hub, says former All Black captain and Lower Hutt identity Andy Leslie.
The landmark wharf is infested with toredo worms, was smashed in the Kaiko¯ ura earthquake and has piles that sway in the wind.
Hutt City Council plans to demolish a 46-metre section of the 393m wharf and repair the remaining section in 2031.
In 2017, the cost of fixing wharves in the city was estimated at $7.5m but that figure is now about $15m.
The future of the Petone wharf has been giving councillors a headache since 2015, when its poor condition became apparent.
Leslie suggests retaining a section of the wharf for fishing and building a sports hub with a cafe and gym.
Petone Rowing Club vicepresident Caroline Robertson likes the idea of a water-based sports hub.
The club had 100 members and raising money to maintain buildings was becoming increasingly difficult, she said.
That sentiment was shared by James Selwood, of the Wellington Waterski Club. Its building on the Petone foreshore needed work and he said the club’s decreasing membership made that challenging.
Waka ama is also looking for a base. Star Olsen, of Kokiri Marae Tai-Patu Waka Ama Club, said the sportwas growing rapidly.
Spending millions on a wharf seemed hard to justify when the money could be much better spent on a sports hub benefiting young people, he said.
Petone-based city councillor Tui Lewis liked the idea of a sports hub but not at the cost of letting the wharf rot.
‘‘What Andy (Leslie) is suggesting is bigger than Texas,’’ Lewis said.
‘‘The simplicity of the wharf is what makes it attractive ... you can get away from things in the middle of the harbour.’’
Generations of people had fished from the wharf and enjoyed it, and Lewis said it was worth saving.
While the estimated cost of repairing the entire wharf could run to tens of millions she believed it was what the public wanted.
Strategic advisor Bruce Hodgins said the council looked at a water sports hub in 2015 at a conceptual level but no money was allocated.
It was not as straight forward as using the wharf money for a hub. The wharf was in poor condition and the council had an obligation to make it safe.
It was also a heritage structure and removing it would require resource consent.
City services manager Matt Reid said a water sports hub had the potential to be a ‘‘massive asset’’.
However, it was unrealistic to suggest that a hub should be built at the expense of retaining the wharf.