Councillors back $55m Yarrow Stadium repairs
Taranaki ratepayers have been handed the baton to decide the future of the region’s premier sports facility, Yarrow Stadium, after councillors backed a multimillion dollar repair plan.
The stadium, in New Plymouth, has been in limited use since the east and west stands were declared an earthquake risk in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Yesterday, the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) reached an unanimous decision to support ‘‘prudently’’ spending $55 million to repair the stands and upgrade facilities as part of the 2019-2020 draft annual plan consultation.
The recommendation, option two out of eight put forward, will now go out to the public for submissions.
Option 2 has the backing of the Taranaki Rugby Union, which looked forward to having major events back at Yarrow Stadium, chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said.
New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) mayor Neil Holdom said it would assess community feedback to see what further part the council may need to play in the stadium remediation.
Each of the eight options had been researched and peer reviewed by three independent engineering consultancies.
In recommending option 2, the council left open the door to considering option 4 and spending $69m to build a community sports centre, as well as repairing both stands if more funding was available and the idea had public support.
The council had begun discussions about extra funding with local community trusts, central government and local authorities.
A final decision will be made with the adoption of the annual plan on May 21 following public submissions hearings.
TRC corporate services director Mike Nield told the meeting that the $55m needed to repair the stands and upgrade existing facilities to bring the venue to its previous capacity would be sourced from joining the Local Government Funding Agency.
Repaying the $55m loan over 25 years would be met by a special Yarrow Stadium annual targeted rate of $51 for Stratford and South Taranaki ratepayers and $76 for New Plymouth ratepayers, he said.
This would be an increase from $11 and $51, respectively, already levied on regional ratepayers to maintain the stadium.
Commercial and industrial ratepayers would see their costs increase from $100 to $490.
TRC chairman David McLeod said a lot of work had been done in the last 15 months to reach the unanimous support from councillors.
‘‘The council is committed to returning Yarrow Stadium to full operational capability as soon as reasonably possible,’’ he said.
‘‘Option 4 looks to be the best in terms of the benefits it would bring but a co-funder would be needed, so Option 2 has to be our preferred option.
‘‘We can go ahead with it but leave the door open for Option 4 if outside funding becomes available in the next 18 months.’’
He said claiming insurance would be difficult because there was no material damage to the stands.
TRC chief executive Basil Chamberlain said repairing both east and west stands was the most ‘‘doable’’ and not a lot more costly than repairing only one stand and removing the other.
If the cheapest option was chosen – demolishing both stands and re-grassing the area at a cost of $6m – all the benefits of the last 15 years would ‘‘evaporate’’, he said.
The option of spending $271m to build a covered stadium ‘‘would be really nice but really expensive for the community to consider’’.
The less expensive options given to repair the two stands and upgrade facilities were ‘‘more realistically affordable,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s where the game is.’’ However, determining liability and finding accountability from those involved in the original construction of the stands would be difficult under New Zealand law, he said.
There were serious questions to be asked about competence and negligence and the council was continuing to pursue both but ‘‘not holding their breath for a good result’’.
Councillor David Lean said the region could be left behind by the rest of the country if nothing was done.
Cr Craig Williamson called for the council to be ‘‘aspirational’’ and ‘‘aim for the highest bar’’.