Pool move to return burial site to Māori
The removal of Thames Centennial Pool from its current site of 50 years will cost $3-million with the land eventually returned to mana whenua.
With age and ailing maintenance requirements, Thames Centennial Pool facility which sits on top of a sacred urupā is set to be returned in 2027 as the district looks to establish a replacement facility elsewhere.
It’s a decision that has been years in the making for local mana whenua, Ngāti Maru.
Approximately $3 million has been allocated in the Long Term Plan to remove the old pool and reinstate the land to a plain recreational site.
The town’s Centennial Pool has sat on site since 1975 and a skate park was added to Taipari Park years later, but will soon be removed.
Two options have come out on top for a replacement facility to be shifted elswherea $40 million localised pool deemed the “lowest capital cost option” or a $70 million regional aquatic centre to serve the surrounding district.
The third option is no new site. A business case into the two alternative projects was set to be completed by July 2024 while public consultation is likely in April.
The localised pool facility would operate out of Thames High School site and be almost double the water volume of the current Centennial Pool with a 7-lane 25-metre lap pool, a heated programme pool, a spa pool and a splash pad for toddlers, children and families.
Operating costs would range from $967k in year 1 to $1.14m in year 10.
Meanwhile the larger sub-regional option would almost triple the waterspace of Centennial Pool equipped with an 8-lane 25-metre pool, a terraced 165 person seating area, a spa pool, a hydro-slide option and a cafe.
It would be located along SH26, Kōpu south with operating costs ranging from $1.35m in year 1 to $1.53m in year 10.
Five years ago, Thames Coromandel District Council made a commitment to return the sacred burial ground the old park sat on in stages over the coming years.
“The process was triggered by ongoing discussions between the leadership of Ngāti Maru and Council over several years.
“Ngati Maru families are the original owners of the land,” Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Len Salt said.
“Discussions over several years lead to this. Reserve management plans back as far as 2006 signal that the long-term view was the removal of public facilities to other appropriate venues.”