Sustainable Napier Committee to consider Aquatic Facility Project options

Published: 14 February 2022

Napier City Council’s Sustainable Napier Committee will be considering the costs and timeframes of constructing a new aquatic facility at its meeting on Thursday. 

The recommendation in the report to the Committee is for Council officers to prepare further information for community consultation. The locations analysed in the report are the Tamatea Drive/Prebensen Drive site that was originally proposed in the LTP 2018-28, along with two locations at Onekawa Park.

The start date for construction of any future aquatic facility impacts on the maintenance costs and capital works needed at the existing Napier Aquatic Centre. For this reason, Council will look at supporting an additional $8.6 million spend over the next two financial years to maintain health and safety standards and service continuity.

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise acknowledges the community’s interest in the project and says it is important to have detailed information when considering such a large investment.

“Councillors agreed the best approach was to ‘press pause’ on the project in 2020 so we could gather more information on the costs and risks for building at either Onekawa Park or Prebensen Drive.

“It is important we have all the information we need in front of us. I believe we are now in a far better position to make decisions on this alongside our community,” says Mayor Wise. “We are committed to consulting with the community on this significant project.”

“We acknowledge there is demand for more pool space in Napier and we need to address this for the sake of the health and wellbeing of our community. 

The Committee will meet at 3pm on Thursday 17^th February.

Background

In 2020, councillors agreed to pause the Aquatic Facility Project that was proposed in the Long Term plan 2018-28, and requested further information on the cost, risks and timeframes of constructing a new aquatic centre on five potential locations at Onekawa Park. 

Geotechnical and contamination investigations were undertaken at five Onekawa Park locations, which confirmed the presence of refuse material, heavy metals and a shallow water table. The results were similar to those in the other parts of the park that were investigated in 1997 and 2011.

Based on the investigation results, the Committee has now been presented with the costs, risks and timeframes of building on two potential sites at Onekawa Park and the previously proposed site on the corner of Tamatea Drive and Prebensen Drive.

Full details on the geotechnical and contamination investigations can be read on napier.govt.nz keyword search #talkaquatic

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