Calls for metro pool at QEII

Calls are growing for Christchurch’s metro sports facility to be built at QEII, but the Government and city’s mayor are unwilling to consider the idea.

Building the facility at QEII, in North New Brighton, would reduce the cost for ratepayers and taxpayers, and its feasibility should be explored, four city councillors say.

However, both Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Megan Woods and Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said QEII was not considered for a 50-metre pool as part of the metro sports facility.

Christchurch City Council’s

$38.6 million QEII Recreation and Sport Centre was due to open on May 31 after a 17-month build. The old earthquake-damaged facility was demolished by January 2016.

Meanwhile, the Crown-led metro sports facility, initially due for completion this year on a central-city site between St Asaph St and Moorhouse Ave, has been mired in delays and its contractor was axed in November over a $75m budget blowout.

The facility had an initial budget of $217m, with the council contributing $147m and the Crown

$70m. A decision on the project’s future was expected to be released by the end of April.

Christchurch City councillor David East said he was struggling to figure out why the council and Government were pursuing a project that was going to cost ‘‘a hell of a lot of money’’ when it could achieve the same result for a quarter of the price. ‘‘It’s going to cost the city so much, when it’s evidently possible to build a 50m pool for a hell of a lot less.’’

East said industry experts told him a 50m pool could be added to the QEII complex for $20m. Even if a more conservative figure of $40m to $50m was used to ensure the pool was built to Olympic standard and included a dive well, a significant saving would still be achieved, East said.

He said he asked Dalziel and Woods for a meeting 10 days ago to discuss the issue. He had not received a response from Dalziel, but said Woods replied saying he would need to apply for a meeting with her via Dalziel’s office.

Other councillors had tried to get answers on the feasibility of metro sports relocating to QEII, but had been unsuccessful.

During a discussion on the progress of the QEII centre at the council’s social, community development and housing committee meeting on Wednesday, councillor Aaron Keown recommended the committee ask staff to investigate the possibility of expanding QEII to become a metro facility.

He was supported by councillors Glenn Livingstone and Yani Johanson, but the recommendation failed when other committee members, councillors Jimmy Chen and Anne Galloway and chairman Phil Clearwater, voted against the proposal.

Councillor Keown said the council needed to be open and transparent with the public on the issue. He said now was the time to put QEII ‘‘in the mix’’ or have it written off completely as a possible metro site.

Livingstone said if the council was serious about saving ratepayers’ money, this was a way to achieve that. He said QEII had been built to be expanded.

Johanson said staff needed to provide councillors with reasons why a relocation of metro sports to QEII was not possible.

Dalziel said on Thursday she had overlooked East’s March 21 email and was happy to meet with him, but she said the reality was that QEII was not considered for the 50m pool that would form part of the metro facility.

Woods said said she did not meet with individual councillors because she made herself available to the full council.