Queenstown Lakes Council approves lease for new Wānaka Youth and Community Centre

Queenstown Lakes District Councillors have given the go ahead for the Council to complete the lease of the former Mitre 10 building at 35 Plantation Road, Wānaka with a view to converting it into a new youth, community and sports facility.

Advising that the initial 10-year lease with additional rights to renew represented an important investment for the Upper Clutha community to help meet demand now and over the coming years,

Queenstown Lakes District Council Sport and Recreation Manager, Simon Battrick stated “the new facility will complement Wānaka Recreation Centre and provide more capacity for sport and recreation in the district.

“Our proposal at Plantation Road is to create two bookable, multi-use, netball-sized courts and a separate studio that could be used for dance, yoga and fitness classes, and as a meeting space. In addition there will be dedicated spaces for foundation tenants Kahu Youth and Aspiring Gymsports, both of whom have been heavily involved in this project from the start.”

Battrick added “I’d like to thank the owner of the site, Allan Dippie, for working positively with Council and other stakeholders on the lease agreement and fit-out plans.”

The decision was made at a public excluded session during last week’s Full Council meeting that enabled Councillors and Council staff to discuss commercially sensitive information relating to the lease agreement and proposed fit-out.

At the same time as giving approval to enter into a lease agreement on the property, Councillors also approved a budget of $4.15 million to fit-out the building subject to final approval of the 2022/23 Annual Plan in June.

This budget and ongoing costs to run the facility will be considered by Councillors alongside other internal submissions to the draft plan.