Bowling clubrooms levelled
The former Terrace End bowling clubrooms have bitten the dust.
The club left the building in Palmerston North’s Summerhays St nearly two years ago, as part of a rationalisation of the city’s bowling clubs.
The city council-owned property was used temporarily as a storage and sorting depot for the Red Cross bookshops and sales.
Council property manager Bryce Hosking said there were security and compliance risks that made demolition necessary.
The council is working on a proposal to use the site for housing.
The 7664m2 parcel of land was the subject of a public consultation exercise last year that drewmajority support for a housing development, with some keen to see some sort of green space retained.
Of the 57 submissions received, 36 supported development of the land for housing, from conventional subdivision to social housing, for people with disabilities, for older people, or for emergency accommodation.
The council’s next step would be to change the zoning on the half of the property currently zoned for recreational use to match the residential zoning on the balance. The process to change to the city’s District Plan would provide further opportunities for public submissions.
Council staff are preparing to notify the proposed plan change and are developing options for housing development.
A further report to the council is expected in the middle of the year.
The council has not made a decision on what type of housing would be best, but it does have $14 million in its longterm budget for social housing.
Meanwhile, another former bowling club site, the Huia St reserve on the corner of Park Rd and Fitzherbert Ave, is being measured up for potential housing.
An amendment to the Palmerston North Empowering Amendment Bill to remove the land from the schedule of properties that cannot be sold is going through Parliament’s select committee process.
The Environment Committee heard public submissions inmarch and is expected to report back in July.