A couple of weeks ago in this column I mentioned how our Northland local authorities (‘Councils’) play a hugely important role in the provision of quality spaces and places for us residents to actively recreate and play sport in.

And because of that, it is very important that we have our say on how much of our ratepayer funding goes into this provision, and for what purposes this funding is used.

The Northland Regional Council (NRC) has released their 2018-28 Long Term Plan (LTP) and it contains a proposal that is potentially significant to the successful development of sports facilities in Northland going forward.

NRC is proposing to re-strike their targeted sports facility rate (that began in 2008 to pay off the loan for the redevelopment of Toll Stadium) for the benefit of sports facilities prioritised in the Northland Sports Facilities Plan.

The Toll Stadium loan is now fully paid off, so NRC are planning to re-strike a new targeted rate (named the ‘Regional Sporting Facilities Rate’) in order to provide seed funding to develop key sports facilities across Northland into the future.

NRC have one project from each of Northland’s three districts identified in the draft LTP as being the ‘first cabs off the rank’ for funding in 2018/19, and then have a second project from each district as the next in line for funding  in the years that follow. This is to assure residents in each district that the rate they will be paying will be beneficial to them and their district.

The rate being proposed is a flat $15 (+ GST) per rateable property per annum across the three Council districts. This equates to only 33 cents per week, and is actually a decrease from the $25 (+ GST) that Whangarei ratepayers have been paying for the last 10 years for the Toll Stadium loan.

If the rate is approved by the NRC Councillors in June, then the first project likely to be funded in the Whangarei district is the proposed sports hub facility at Pohe Island. This proposal would see a facility constructed on the current recycling centre (adjacent to the BMX track) that would house all local bike clubs and Bike Northland, as well as many other sports that do not currently have a home of their own (including the possibility of a home for Northland Rugby). It will also fully develop the wider concept of a bike park at Pohe Island.

The second-ranked Whangarei project in the plan is the Northland Football Hub at Tikipunga Sports Park, a collaboration between Tikipunga Football Club, Northern Football Federation and Northland Football Club. This facility will provide a regional home for football in Northland, including facilities of a scale and quality to ensure hosting of regional and national tournaments.

Submissions in support of the rate can be made to submissions@nrc.govt.nz