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

QLDC Sport and Recreation Manager Simon Battrick said the initial ten-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.

“The new facility will complement Wānaka Recreation Centre and provide more capacity for sport and recreation in the district,” he said.

“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.”

“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,” said Mr Battrick.

The decision was made at a public excluded session during yesterday’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 $4.15M to fit-out the building subject to final approval of the 2022-2023 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.

Last month, the Wānaka Community Board agreed to part-fund the fit-out with $1M from the Wānaka Asset Sale Reserve. An additional $900,000 could potentially be provided from the fund in the future if applications for third-party grant funding is unsuccessful.

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