Indoor sports facility for Ngongotaha

Land has been made available for a new youth, sport and community facility on reserve land behind Ngongotaha Hall. Photo / Supplied

Plans are under way to build an all-purpose indoor sport and community facility in Ngongotaha after the Rotorua Lakes Council agreed to lease part of a reserve to a local community organisation.

The group behind the project say they want to be able to help the township's youth and elderly by providing a multi-purpose facility that would be able to be used by a range of other organisations.

The site is behind the Ngongotaha Hall between School Rd and Ngongotaha Rd.

Ten days ago, councillors voted unanimously to "agree in principle to leasing a portion of land on Ngongotaha Hall Reserve for the construction and operation of a community/indoor sports training facility".

Progress Ngongotaha-Kokiri Ngongotaha board member Bob Martin said the organisation made a request to the council to provide some land for the building of a 60m x 20m facility which would initially house the Ngongotaha Scout Group and provide an indoor training facility for Ngongotaha women's netball, and would be available for use as a youth centre.

Mr Martin said a $250,000 grant from the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust would kick start the project.

"The scouts were looking for a new venue, and our netballers have never had a place to train, they have to go into Rotorua to practise."

He said each group would help maintain the building, which would also have a kitchen and toilet block, with Progress Ngongotaha-Kokiri Ngongotaha being responsible for the development. "Our focus now is on our youth and our elderly, not so much on the commercial aspects of the town.

"We want other organisations to be able to use it as well."

Mr Martin said the terms of the lease had yet to be finalised, but the plan was to have the facility up and running within three years. "We have to put a business case to the trust and council by March, and we are underway with that process."