Council Gives Grandstand Trust More Time

27 July 2017 - The Golden Bay Grandstand Community Trust has been given three months to come up with a feasible, fundable proposal to restore the grandstand on its current or an alternative site.

The Tasman District Council today agreed to give the Trust extra time to come up with a firm plan to fund and carry out a heritage restoration of the grandstand on the Golden Bay Rec Park.

Subsequent additions to the original structure that can be safely removed will still be demolished at the Trust’s expense.

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne said the Trust needed to carry out a large amount of work to determine the actual work needed, its cost, and its ability to raise those funds.

“There has been some question about whether the Trust intends to restore the grandstand to preserve its heritage values, or simply do it up to provide covered seating. We need clarity that this is a heritage restoration, because there are likely to be cheaper and easier options for providing covered seating that don’t interfere with the use of the new Rec Park Centre. A full historic restoration is a big project, however, and the Trust needs to know how much that is going to cost them before embarking.

“We’re willing to provide time for the Trust to work out those details. Once they are armed with more knowledge, they can decide whether this is a project they are willing and able to carry out. They can then come back to us with a clear direction for us to consider. The Trust will need to work with both the Council and the Golden Bay Shared Recreation Facility Group towards a solution that is sympathetic to the Trust’s aims of retaining the grandstand, but also to the aims of the new Rec Park Centre.”

Mayor Kempthorne said while the Trust did not wish to see the grandstand relocated, the Council was still open to the idea of removing the structure carefully so a community group could rebuild it on another site.

“We’re still open to considering that and will want to weigh that option up against the proposal to retain it on its current site in three months time.”

The Trust has three months to prepare:

• a conservation and restoration plan
• a fundraising plan
• applications for building consents
• a proposal to take ownership of the building and lease its footprint from the Council.

The Council and the Trust will now enter a formal agreement outlining the expectations.

ENDS

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