Rolleston Emergency Hub Plan At Risk As Council Eyes Housing Profits

Tuesday, 14 April 2026, 5:18 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

Rolleston's planned emergency services hub could be scrapped for housing as councillors weigh cashing in on the land.

Helpet Park sits undeveloped in the centre of Rolleston, and the Selwyn District Council has been working with agencies to build an emergency services hub since 2023.

The council is now set to consider scrapping that plan and cashing in on the hot property.

The around 13 hectares block was zoned medium-density residential and had a council water well, water treatment plant and wastewater pump station.

A report would be tabled on Wednesday for the councillors to vote to no longer use the Helpet Block site for an Emergency Services Campus and repurpose the available land on the Helpet Block for housing.

The report suggested it would be the "highest economic return on land value within the short term" and supported the growth demands of Rolleston.

The council signed a memorandum of understanding with Police,Fire and Emergency NZ and Hato Hone/St John at the end of 2023 and all the parties had been working on developing a concept plan.

In a public excluded meeting in September 2024 the council agreed "in principle to the development of a portion of the Helpet Block for an Emergency Services Campus, including a police Station, fire Station, ambulance station, emergency operations centre, emergency management base, and training facility".

The decision also agreed in principle to the sale of a portion of the Helpet Block to Corde, a council controlled organistation, for a discount of 15 percent below the market value of the land to develop the site and for the council to purchase any of the buildings and land owned by the emergency services partners.

The report to the council this week stated the project had support but faced "uncertainty surrounding delivery timelines from each party".

"Each Agency is facing significant budget pressures and an ageing existing infrastructure portfolio.

"This has meant that some of the agencies have not been able to prioritise this project over their other needs."

The project relied on the cost efficiency of building in one phase with all the agencies involved.

According to the council report, NZ Police had confirmed funding had been requested for the purchase of land for 2027/28, while FENZ and St John were not in a position to offer a commitment on a potential timeline.

The councillors were briefed behind closed doors on the project in February and had a site visit on 1 April.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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