Tennis courts at Kaikōura’s Takahanga Domain were damaged in the 2016 earthquake, but an upgrade has struck a snag. (file photo)
A decision on Kaikōura’s multi-use court upgrade has been deferred until next month, in the hope user groups can resolve their differences.
The Kaikōura District Council received a report commissioned by Sport Tasman at its meeting on Wednesday, which gave options for upgrading the earthquake-damaged tennis courts at Takahanga Domain into a multi-use facility.
But it deferred a decision on whether to support the recommendations until the sports clubs came to an agreement.
‘‘The key thing is, this needs to be community driven and not council driven,’’ council chief executive Will Doughty said.
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Netballers, who have been playing at a high schoo, say the proposed upgrade at the Takahanga Domain would work better on one level. Tennis players want to retain the existing two levels.
Cr John Diver has been asked to chair a meeting of the newly formed Kaikōura Community Courts Group on Tuesday where he hoped to find a resolution between the Kaikōura Netball Centre and local tennis players.
Sport Tasman’s preferred option is to redevelop the courts on one level, which would cost an estimated $420,000.
But tennis players, speaking at a public forum at Wednesday’s meeting, advocated for sticking with the existing two levels which would save $80,000.
The Kaikōura Netball Centre, which has nearly 20 teams, has been playing at the Kaikōura High School netball courts.
A netball centre representative at Wednesday’s council meeting said the centre would need three courts for game days, which would fit better on a single level facility.
While tennis has traditionally been played at the Takahanga tennis courts, there is no tennis club in Kaikōura.
The tennis players indicated one tennis court would be sufficient for their needs.
Sport Tasman also saw opportunities for involvement of other sports such as basketball, volleyball and traditional Māori games like tapu ae.
It hoped to create a sports hub at Takahanga Domain involving other domain sports including rugby, squash, bowls and croquet.
The Kaikōura Rugby Club was rebuilding its club rooms as a community pavilion and planned to include storage for tennis, netball and other sports equipment.
The council had received $164,000 from the Department of Internal Affairs’ Earthquake Relief Fund for redevelopment of the courts.The balance would be obtained through community fundraising.
The council will meet again on December 14.
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