Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards face another season without clubrooms

Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards chairman Matt Warren. Photo / Rosalie Willis

The Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards are in danger of losing more than just members if they can't find the money to build their new clubrooms soon.

The club is facing a second summer operating out of containers and portacoms after a report from StrucD Ltd in 2021 recommended they shut the building straight away.

Still going strong with around 200 members, the club has a strong nippers programme but has already lost a number of lifeguards, with club chairman Matt Warren saying they are in danger of the club closing if they don't get a new building soon.

Warren said operating out of the containers over last summer was "average to bad" but his club members "just got on with it because that's what they do".

The old Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms will be destroyed soon. Photo / David Haxton

"On the rainy days when there were north-westerlies coming straight in, patrolling the beach loses its appeal," he said.

"There was no way to get out of the wind and for training, there were no hot showers afterwards."

However, Surf Lifesaving New Zealand (SLSNZ) chief executive Paul Dalton said operating without proper clubrooms is not an unusual situation.

Clubs in Christchurch had to operate for several years from temporary facilities after the earthquakes and the Lyall Bay Surf Life Saving Club also had similar challenges when they had several years without a clubhouse while they raised money to get their new building completed.

"Unfortunately this is a reality of how we have to operate when things like this occur," Dalton said.

An artist's impression of the new Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms. Image / Supplied

With plans and resource consent for a new $5 million multipurpose building set further back from the beach, the club is looking for a major funder to get the building started, but funding options are scarce.

The club was hoping to get funding from SLSNZ, which has received Government funding since 2020 for building projects, but missed out despite being the only club in New Zealand currently operating without a building.

Dalton said they receive $2.75m per year for building projects which has to spread over as many projects as possible.

"When clubs were last asked to submit requests in April for funding support for their building projects over the coming three years we had 25 clubs (out of 74 nationwide) put in requests.

"Ten of the 25 were for new full-builds, 12 were for refurbishments or expansion of existing buildings and three were for help with developing future projects."

Severe corrosion of steel column flanges and a base plate at the Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms. Photo / Supplied

Dalton said most of the 25 clubs would see their projects as urgent, with five other projects deemed more urgent than Paekākāriki based on a range of factors the organisation uses to determine the funding.

"The biggest challenge for Paekākāriki was that other projects have been in development for much longer and have been able to get a lot more funding together to ensure they are in a position to start and finish their projects in the timeframe when the money is available."

At the time of their application in April, Paekākāriki had no significant funding in place.

Other funding sources such as the Lotteries Grants Board, which has a significant projects fund, have suspended the funding for two years - which is a big blow for Paekākāriki, as the club was hoping to get a significant amount from them.

"The only other people that have that kind of money are Government and council," Warren said.

Paekākāriki Surf Lifesaving Club chairman Matt Warren standing on land where the new clubrooms will be. Photo / Rosalie Willis

Until the club finds someone to provide the first large sum they have little hope of receiving other grants as many grants are only available if there is already a significant amount of money already in the bank for the project.

"Lots of grants you can apply for will only give you money when you've already got a portion of it yourself," Warren said.

"At present, the club has around half a million in the bank and another half a million in kind."

Local businesses have already helped significantly, with Cuttriss doing a huge amount of work on the resource consents for free and Mills Albert offering to help with groundwork and drainage when the build gets under way.

Warren said club members will only put up with operating out of containers for so long.

"We'll see how long people last but if we don't get funding in a hurry the club will close.

"We already lost members last year because they didn't want to come back.

"There were no facilities, you go out and rescue someone, it's cold, and there's no hot shower afterwards, which is a bit rubbish."

Meanwhile, the club is currently working with the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) to create ramp access to the beach for the coming season, after the old ramp was destroyed by a storm in 2019.

GWRC has provided the materials to build a sand ladder which means the club will be able to get the Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) onto the beach and SLSNZ is supporting with funding for portacoms and container facilities.

"It's important we run business as usual and find ways to make sure we can continue to keep the beach safe," Warren said.

Farewelling the old clubrooms

The old clubrooms are being handed to a demolition company next month.

The club welcomes all past and present members all club members, past and present, along with the community, to gather together to farewell the iconic building, which has not just protected the lives of the community but also provided the venue for many friendships to be fostered, love and respect for the ocean to be built and champions to be celebrated.

Come and help say goodbye to the clubrooms on October 30 from 12.30pm with a blessing from iwi, sausage sizzle and fun for the kids. Full club training will take place after the formalities.

If you can support the Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards with their new clubrooms in any way contact Matt Warren at mattwarren505@gmail.com.