The long-term future of the Kauri Coast Community Pool in Dargaville looks a lot more secure after Sport Northland signed a deal to buy it from the Kauri Coast Community Pool Trust (KCCPT) last week.
Under the deal, the KCCPT will sell the complex to Sport Northland for $1. This will enable Sport Northland to govern the facilities in agreement with the Kaipara District Council (KDC), which will pay an operational grant and a maintenance grant annually. The day-to-day running of the complex will continue to be undertaken by Community Leisure Management (CLM).
A Licence to Occupy agreement has also been signed with Sport Northland, enabling the complex to continue to operate on KDC land at Selwyn Park.
Sport Northland was approached by the KCCPT in August 2018 with a proposal to transfer ownership and governance of the pool complex to Sport Northland. The proposal recognized Sport Northland’s expertise in facility ownership, governance, management and development stretching back to 1977 when the origins of the organization were founded. Other facilities owned by Sport Northland include Kensington Fitness, ASB Stadium, ASB Northland Sports House, Whangarei Aquatic Centre and Bay of Islands Recreation Centre in Kawakawa.
The KCCPT was formed in 2006 with the aim of working in partnership with KDC to develop a replacement community pool. The complex, which opened in January 2010, includes a solar-heated 50 metre outdoor pool (the only one servicing the Northland region), hydrotherapy pool, learn to swim pool, grandstand, changing rooms and office/reception area.
KDC Chief Executive Louise Miller says that having Sport Northland involved, with formal agreements specifying terms and conditions, should give comfort to both council and the community.
“The Council looks forward to working together with Sport Northland to showcase the fantastic asset that is the Kauri Coast Community Pool, and continuing to build on the work done by the KCCPT. The decision for Council to work alongside a specialised organisation like Sport Northland is a great opportunity to future proof the Pool and to ensure many people will enjoy it for years to come.”
KCCPT Chair Vern Stevens says that having Sport Northland as the Trust governing the complex ensures that the facility will continue to improve and flourish in the long term.
“The KCCPT acknowledges that there are some outstanding local community leaders with great ideas and vision for the complex, who will be needed to work with Sport Northland to make the complex more user friendly for the whole community. Having Sport Northland at the helm ensures a sustainable future for the complex in both the Kaipara District and the region as a whole” says Stevens.
Sport Northland Chief Executive Brent Eastwood said that the ownership and governance model agreed to last week fits well with his organisation’s goal of providing quality spaces and places in the right locations that encourage more Northlanders to play, active recreation and sport.
“Sport Northland’s core purpose is ‘enriching lives through play, active recreation and sport’ and, by agreeing to the ownership of the facility, we believe we can enrich the lives of more locals in the wider Northern Wairoa area.
“A significant factor in our board’s decision was the commitment shown by KDC and the KCCPT to keep the complex open for everyone in the community,” he said.
“I particularly want to acknowledge Vern Stevens, Gordon Lambeth, Janet Froggatt and Amanda Matich from the KCCPT who have voluntarily served the trust so well for the last nine years since the complex first opened” Eastwood said.
The complex currently has seasonal hours, opening annually around Labour Weekend and closing towards the end of March, but Eastwood acknowledges that part of Sport Northland’s plans in the medium to long term will be to investigate a ‘closing-in’ of at least part of the pool facilities to enable year-round access.
