Questions over sale of key camping centre
A former Cub Scouts leader is up in arms at the sale of a key North Canterbury scouting facility in Kaiapoi.
Blue Skies, a 6.8 hectare property with buildings, was sold in March for $2.8 million. It was valued at $2.55m in August this year.
It was sold to Williams Waimak Ltd, a company owned by interests of Christchurch businessmen Garry, Andrew and Jason Donnithorne.
Garry Donnithorne declined to say why the venue had been bought or what the plans were for the site.
‘‘In the meantime we will run it as the Scouts ran it, honouring all the bookings ... and they have usages over it.’’
Sharron Hampton, a former Cub Scouts leader who lived in Kaiapoi and has just returned from 11 years in Australia, said she and others in the community were saddened about the sale and she questioned whether Scouts NZ had made the most of the facility. A Scouts NZ spokesman had told her that area leaders had been consulted. ‘‘I also raised the issue of the contents of the museum, a lot of which has been generously donated by scouting families, and also the memorial wall with the bronze plaques, and for me in particular a stone from my family placed under a young oak tree. His response to that was: Well I think they might be retained or shifted elsewhere. [That’s] not good enough.’’ Hampton said she felt the sale had not been done transparently, and she was unconvinced the venue could not have been kept and run profitably.
‘‘It is a fabulous area, the grounds are amazing, there are lovely climbing walls for training kids not only to be reliant on themselves but others.
‘‘It is an amazing complex ... and totally under-utilised.’’
Scouts NZ chief executive Joshua Tabor denied the property had been sold in secrecy, saying the decision had been made in conjunction with local Scouts groups. The sale to a local development company was announced in May. ‘‘We understand some former Scouts may feel nostalgic for the campground. Blue Skies has served us well over the years, and we thank our alumni for their passion and hard work in fundraising for the site.’’ However, Scout NZ’s use of the property had declined to only 2 per cent of its occupancy being Scouts related.
‘‘Every property we manage needs to contribute to our youth development programme. Where this is not being achieved, such as with Blue Skies, we need to review whether we keep the property or we risk depriving our youth members of opportunities.’’ Tabor said the proceeds would be used for improving other Scouts facilities, not for operational matters or salaries.
Blue Skies was built in the 1960s on local fundraising and the back field was gifted. The camp’s original A-frame building was well-known on the local skyline and other facilities such as a training centre, a youth lodge with a 200-seat dining room and a pool followed.
A Scout Museum was opened there in 1994, also built through fundraising. There were no caveats or covenants over the sale, Tabor said. The organisation was working to find another location for the museum and memorial wall.