Gisborne District Council approves new location for indoor pool facility

Gisborne District Council, situated in north eastern New Zealand, has approved a new location for the indoor facility of its Olympic Pool Redevelopment.

Site contamination and geotechnical investigations of the green field area at Gisborne's Churchill Park next to the current Olympic Pool site are already underway with preliminary results expected back by the end of April.

Relocating the indoor facility alleviates challenges associated with building new aquatic infrastructure over the top of an existing and ageing network-critical sewer pipe.

The Council agreed at its meeting last Thursday that pending problematic geotechnical investigation results, the contingency plan would be to decommission and reroute the existing sewerage pipe.

Advising that the Council is committed to building a facility which meets the needs of the whole community, Council Chief Executive Nedine Thatcher-Swann stated "the proposed changes are a result of this commitment. Our expert project team has been working with key stakeholders such as NgÄi Tawhiri and the Game Changing Opportunity Group to understand their concerns and long-term objectives."

Sir Derek Lardelli and his wife Rose attended the meeting along with NgÄi Tawhiri representatives Thelma Karaitiana and Stan Pardoe.

During a co-design process with NgÄi Tawhiri the proposal to relocate the main indoor facility has received significant support.

Thelma Karaitiana of NgÄi Tawhiri, says Council representatives are working in the spirit of protecting the whenua noting "Mana whenua have a cultural duty of care to the people and the environment, and the relocation of the facility is an informed resolution to risk adverse matters".

Thatcher Swann added that another advantage of relocation is the ability for visitors to keep using the existing pools while the new facility is built.

Sport Gisborne Chief Executive Stefan Pishief says the sporting community is excited by what’s planned adding "this will be an amazing facility that benefits everyone in our community. We commend the Council for listening to the voice of mana whenua, and for recognising the opportunities that the new site will provide. This is the right outcome."

Image courtesy of CREATE who were commissioned by Gisborne District Council (GDC) to provide a concept study for the proposed redevelopment of the Olympic Pool Complex. The scope was to include master-planning and supporting GDC with their public consultation process. Global Leisure Group (GLG) were commissioned as part of the CREATE team to support the public consultation process.