Moller Park issue: board to step in

Suggestions have been made that  reclaiming and filling in the  inlet at Burkes could create...
Suggestions have been made that reclaiming and filling in the inlet at Burkes could create space for new playing fields.PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN
The chairman of the West Harbour Community Board wants answers over the looming threat to Moller Park.

Steve Walker said yesterday he would be asking Ravensdown and the Harbour Rugby Club to speak to the board about the issue.

The board was yet to hear from either side formally, so had no facts on which to form a position, he said.

But, speaking personally, Mr Walker said he was concerned Moller Park was "potentially under threat".

"The rugby club is, and has been for well over a century, an integral part of the community.

"Until we get all the facts we can't draw any conclusions, but it's obviously concerning.

"We don't actually have too many spaces in the West Harbour that would be suitable."

His comments came after it was reported in April the Harbour club was concerned it faced being pushed off Moller Park by the company, which was citing health and safety concerns.

Club chairman Lance Spence said this week the club was preparing for a legal showdown to protect its access - and that of the wider West Harbour community - to the ground.

The fertiliser company owned the site, which was zoned for industrial use, and Mr Spence believed a development plan was behind the company's attempt to remove the club, a claim the company denied.

Mr Walker said yesterday there were "a lot of contradictory rumours flying around" on the issue, and he wanted to hear from all sides.

A Harbour representative would be invited to come to the next board meeting and update board members.

It was hoped a Ravensdown representative would do the same or update the board through the company's community liaison group, he said.

Mr Spence said yesterday he had been receiving a lot of messages of support over the issue.

He had also arranged a meeting with Dunedin City Council staff for next week, and had written to Ravensdown New Zealand's chief executive and chairman to criticise the company's handling of the situation in Dunedin.

In the meantime, an option to replace Moller Park had also been suggested by members of the public: reclaiming the Burkes inlet to create space for new playing fields.

Mr Spence said the idea had been investigated before, in the 1960s, but dropped due to cost concerns.

Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said yesterday his company would support the idea, if it was something the community wanted.

Material dredged from Otago Harbour - which was dumped off the coast - could be used to fill the inlet, and would be a cheaper option for Port Otago, he said.

The idea would require input from Ngai Tahu and have major consenting hurdles to overcome, involving the Otago Regional Council and potentially the city council.

Questions also remained over whether such a project was warranted now, before the results of a city council's review of existing playing surfaces, which was already under way.

Mr Walker was also sceptical, saying it would be a "drastic" and "costly" option that threatened rare wildlife in the area.

"It may be smelly, but everyone who cycles past or walks past there ... will see that that bay, at low tide, is full of some extremely endangered fauna.

"Let's try to get to the bottom of a park that already is functional and well used and loved," he said.

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