Council continues negotiations to replace Whanganui Velodrome track

Negotiations with suppliers for timber to replace the track on the Whanganui velodrome are continuing. Photo / Supplied

Negotiations with potential suppliers of timber to replace the Whanganui Velodrome track are ongoing.

The velodrome has been closed since February last year due to the track's wood rotting.

Whanganui District Council property and open spaces general manager, Sarah O'Hagan, said during last year's Long Term Plan deliberations, the council agreed to spend $2.5 million on making the velodrome usable again.

O'Hagan said while the intention was to replace the track with timber suitable for outdoor use, the council was still in negotiations with potential suppliers.

Progress updates would be provided once negotiations were complete and the council entered a contract with a supplier, she said.

Cycling Whanganui president Ian Murphy said the club was in support of the plan to replace the track, as the start of a plan to restore the venue.

"We would see that as part of a phased response to addressing this really important council asset."

He said he believed the velodrome could have more uses for the community beyond cycling, but getting the track recommissioned and in use again would be a good start.

He said reopening the track would benefit youth cyclists for training, and would allow competitions like the Masters Games to be held at the venue again.

"We are absolutely supportive of a replacement and we hope that there might be some positive announcement in the near future," he said.

The next stage of the phased response would involve reopening the discussion on building a roof over the facility to protect the track.

Murphy said Cycling Whanganui was supportive of roofing the venue, but in the context of being able to use it as a multi-purpose sport and recreation facility for the Whanganui community, rather than only being used for cycling.

"We believe it needs to make sense for a whole lot of groups, not just for cycling. We think that a whole lot of groups can be accommodated within it, which makes it far more feasible and far more palatable for the community."

In May 2021, the council debated what to do with the track, with one of the options being to replace the track with a $20m roofed facility.

The roof was the council's preferred option, but a split vote on whether to build it halted progress on the potential of installing a roof, with the $2.5m assigned to replace the track at the venue instead.