‘Wishy-washy’ plans upset Karori residents

Karori residents fear Wellington City Council’s recommendations for what to do with the old teachers’ college campus might see the community ‘‘shafted’’.

Council officers have put forward a paper that recommends the council register its interest with Victoria University in getting some of the land so it can upgrade the Karori Pool car park.

It also recommends the council talk to the Ministry of Education about providing shared public sport and outdoor facilities.

Save Karori Campus spokesman Rob Gourdie said the paper contained ‘‘wishy-washy’’ statements, and did not give the group confidence about the future. He said he wanted the community’s interests in the campus to be properly registered by the council. ‘‘We don’t want to be shafted.’’ A public meeting last Monday, involving the council, the ministry and the university, left residents feeling more assured, he said. However, it now appeared the council had ‘‘descoped’’ its interest to simply creating more car parks for the swimming pool.

‘‘The ministry has been fairly clear in meetings they’re not the ministry of community halls and netball courts, they’re the Ministry of Education. They’re limited in their mandate of what facilities they can hold on to.’’

There was nothing to suggest the ministry would offer to, or cajole the council to, take on more of the campus, Gourdie said.

However, Katrina Casey, deputy secretary of sector enablement and support at the ministry, said if Karori Normal School was interested in using some of the land for school netball and tennis courts, it would be open to partnering with the council on shared school and community courts.

In that case, the school might redevelop courts already there, or build new ones.

She reiterated the ministry’s position that it would buy land for educational purposes if it could get it at a good price. This would include land for Karori Normal, and for a potential technology hub for intermediate students.

Onslow-Western ward councillor Andy Foster was also concerned some facilities might be lost, despite an independent report showing how well used they were. He said working with the ministry was sensible.

‘‘The best way of dealing with this has always been we sit down together and work out a coherent plan for the whole site, and how the site works with immediately adjacent sites, Karori Normal School and the swimming pool.

‘‘We could end up with bits and pieces, which we don’t want to happen.’’

Council chief planner David Chick said a council meeting tomorrow would discuss the campus.

Two main things would be decided: the car parking required for the pool, and whether to direct officers to work with the ministry on the technology hub proposal.

The council would not look to retain the building’s halls, because the recommendation was that the community had other venues to use.

Councillors would vote on the paper’s recommendations tomorrow.