The restoration of the 100-year-old Taihape Grandstand will be led by a newly established community group. Photo / NZME
The restoration of the 100-year-old Taihape Grandstand will be led by a newly established community group. Photo / NZME
Rangitīkei District Council has opted to hand the majority of the Taihape Grandstand project to the newly established Taihape Grandstand Restoration Committee.
At its November 27 meeting, the council accepted a request for the restoration project to be a community-led, council-owned facilities upgrade under the guidance of the Taihape GrandstandRestoration Committee (TGRC).
With the council’s support, the committee, chaired by former councillor Gill Duncan, will take charge of the project and look for external funding sources.
Council staff will likely have only an oversight and reporting role in the project but it will remain a council asset once completed.
The council approved the Taihape Grandstand project following consultation through the development of the 2021-31 Long Term Plan.
The council agreed to allocate $1 million towards preserving and restoring the grandstand, with $315,000 already spent on investigation and design work.
No more money was required in the switch-over but the council could incur additional debt if the budget was overspent.
Barry Copeland, of Copeland Associates Architects, offered his services to the council in July.
Under TGRC’s regime, Copeland will continue design work on the grandstand, with no further quotes sought.
A written agreement will outline the budget, what needs to be achieved, priorities, processes, and what is needed for consents and to meet the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015.
Work will not begin until the agreement is signed by both parties.
The agreement will allow the TGRC to access funds from Whanganui Community Foundation and the newly established NZ Rugby Legacy Fund, with which TGRC has a live application.
The committee will receive $92,000 from the NZ Rugby Legacy Fund to get started and a further $900,000 once the written agreement is finalised.
Duncan said the Taihape community was “right to strike and get this project done”.
“Taihape is ready to move on this and we need [council’s] vote of confidence,” she said.
Former Rangitīkei District councillor Gill Duncan is chairwoman of the newly established Taihape Grandstand Restoration Committee. Photo / NZME
The majority of councillors acknowledged that the community-led development allowed the committee to seek external funding the council would not have access to, reduced internal project management costs for the project and allowed for the community to redevelop the grandstand in a manner that meets its needs.
The downsides included the loss of council oversight in the final design and increased internal costs for the council’s northern area and property manager.
Deputy Mayor Dave Wilson said having community groups involved in the project made things smoother.
“It gives you scope to reach out to other funding sources and those sources would be comfortable knowing that they’ve got the district council sitting behind it,” Wilson said.
“For me, it’s an absolute natural thing for it to be led by the community.”
Watson said the TGRC would go through all the processes, which would save the council time, money and staffing resources.
“You can’t have a foot in both camps, in my opinion. We can’t claim both fields – you either give them the job or don’t,” Watson said.
Councillors were split on whether to let the TGRC determine how the remaining council funds were allocated and whether to make payments upon TGRC’s authorisation.
Wilson was nervous about signing off the financial authorisation without checks and balances.
“While I’m supportive of intent, I don’t believe there’s enough detail on the authorisation pathway,” he said.
“It’s very broad and very open and I think it has some risks.”
It was agreed the financial authorisation would be subject to confirmation of final approval of the TGRC written agreement.
The TGRC has indicated that the building phase of the project should start in August or September next year, with a desired completion date of March 2027.
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.
