The future of Paralympic swimmer Lili-Fox Mason at the upcoming Paris 2024 games is not the only thing hanging in the balance as the days tick by.
Lili-Fox Mason at centre. (Supplied by the Wharenui Sports Centre)
Nearly $2.6 million of council funding to overhaul her aging home turf at the Wharenui Swimming and Sport Centre is still in the air.
Listen to the Riccarton Councillor’s argument in favour of funding the refurbishment.
Based in Riccarton, the centre has been Mason’s training base for about 6 years and has been a beacon of support for her as she heads into her maiden summer games.
In the space of just a few years, the centre has transformed itself into not just the home turf for Olympic hopefuls, but also a buzzing hive of activity in Riccarton, ranked in 2018 as one of the city’s poorest suburbs.
The New Zealand Deprivation Index (Massey University)
Riccarton councillor Tyla Harrison-Hunt says the area has a large number of social housing units and sees the role the centre has in the Riccarton community and the future shape of the city’s south-west.
According to the council minutes, the centre (above) operates on a month-to-month council lease. It covers most of its own operational expenses.
In his estimation, the centre will be needed as a central hub with about 3,000 more houses springing up in the south-west and its location, being close to public transport routes, and its accessibility on foot and from Westfield Mall. He also claimed that all Riccarton locals go on foot.
Listen to Chris Averill, the club president.
The $3.52 million price-tag does not include costings for “building consents, professional fees, project management and asbestos,” say the council minutes.
He is seeking nearly $2.6 million in funding from the council coffers to “bring it all up to scratch, up to standard, and making it a great place to be. It’s really outdated. It's really old.”
The council estimates the capital expenditure “if funded by new borrowing” would have less 0.01 percent impact on the city’s rates between 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 financial years, and less than 0.01 percent in 2028/2029.
If granted, the refurbishment would come in two stages.
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