'We are not a rich city': What Whanganui councillors said about funding the velodrome roof

Whanganui District Council will allocate $2.5 million to repair and maintain the velodrome track over the next two years. Photo / File

Whanganui has bigger priorities than its velodrome, according to councillors who voted against funding roofing the facility at a cost of $20 million.

Instead, Whanganui District Council will allocate $2.5 million to repair and maintain the velodrome track over the next two years.

When debating the council's long-term plan this week councillors were locked at six-all when voting on a proposal to include $20 million in the budget for the velodrome project, subject to confirmation 55 per cent of that would be covered by external funding.

Councillor Hadleigh Reid abstained from voting, meaning the deadlock couldn't be broken and the motion was lost.

Reid said he had been going "a bit back and forth" with making a decision on the velodrome roof project.

"I was against the project but after reading the submissions I somewhat changed my mind," he said.

"On the one hand, I see that a multi-purpose facility would be a great community asset. On the other, I don't think there is a great deal of community support for it."

But councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan supported funding the redevelopment and said it was about "Whanganui backing itself".

She said there was 50 per cent support for the velodrome project expressed in the public submissions and believed there was a large silent majority who also supported the project.

"There is a level of mandate and democracy in this," she said.

Baker-Hogan said she had supported the other projects in the long-term plan and asked that other councillors support the velodrome and not allow it to "become a casualty of other priorities".

Whanganui district councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan. Photo / File

"We are not being asked to hand over the $9m today [budgeted council contribution] but to hold the funds in the long-term plan budget."

Councillor Rob Vinsen said he would support the funding but was "highly uncomfortable" about it.

"The decision to build or roof a multi-purpose facility will not be decided by this resolution," he said.

"It has to come back in a due diligence process that has to convince us that there's a need for this project."

Vinsen cited facilities in Whanganui and other districts which were primarily funded by the community and said it was up to potential users of the velodrome to prove to the council they would financially sustain the facility.

Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay said the decision had been a tough one because there had been so much "emotivity" around the velodrome.

"So many good people have devoted a lot of time and effort to this project over the course of my entire lifetime," he said.

The councillor said he was born in 1995, the same year the track was built and the campaign to cover it had been running ever since.

"The community need clarity," he said.

"Regardless of whether they support or oppose the project, they need a clear direction."

Chandulal-Mackay said while Whanganui was experiencing growth it was important to look at priorities and he had been swayed by a submission made by Tim Metcalfe of Jigsaw who said the priority should be about many roofs rather than one.

Addressing a housing shortage, waste management, rural stormwater provision and other pressing concerns will need to be addressed by the council and would need to take priority over a velodrome roof, Chandulal-Mackay said.

"There is so much coming up for us and we need to be really clear on what our priorities are," he said.

Whanganui district councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay Tuesday. Photo / File

Councillor James Barron said he had looked at the velodrome project as a business proposal and found it not to be viable.

He said New Zealand already has two covered velodromes whereas there were only three in the United States.

Graham Young said he had some sentimentality towards the velodrome and thanked Leigh Grant and Bob Smith of the Regional Velodrome Development Trust (RVDT) for their long-standing commitment and work towards the project.

Young said he had read up on proposals for covered velodromes in other places and noted a common theme.

"One of the first things all of them are trying to do is identify all the other activities that could take place," he said.

"Although I accept that there are other activities that could take place here I don't think any of them have been presented in any concrete form to this council."

Young said he would support the motion but would want more assurance before the project commenced.

Deputy mayor Jenny Duncan said she had been ambivalent about the velodrome proposals but after considering public submissions she was in favour.

"I could see the potential for a multi-purpose public facility with the velodrome contained within it," she said.

Duncan said weighing the $4.2m budget allocation for housing against the velodrome project amount was not realistic.

"That amount was not set because of the velodrome allocation. We are not housing providers - that is the job of government and private providers," she said.

Duncan said the housing budget was to facilitate and support housing needs.

Mayor Hamish McDouall said although he voted to roof the velodrome in 2011 and supported the RVDT with an unsuccessful application to Horizons Regional Council, he would not support the motion.

"We are not a rich city and this is a lot of money," he said.

Councillor Helen Craig said although she supported the vision of the RVDT and others she believed the council had failed to make its own accurate assessment.

"If the council has not understood what the community needs are I cannot support the proposal."

The council's long-term plan is scheduled to be adopted on Tuesday, June 22.