Great news for the South this week that the Dunedin City Council has bought the former St Kilda racecourse from Harness Racing New Zealand for $13.2 million.
The money will come from savings in the council’s existing capital expenditure budget.
The last time horses and their sulkies rumbled around the track was on July 8, 2021. Moment Of Kaos won race 6 that evening, paying $15 to win. For driver Jonny Cox, whose father and grandfather were trainers, it was especially memorable.
Forbury was packed on what was a poignant night for punters, trainers, jockeys and owners. At 9.09pm, DodgetheBullet became the last horse to win in a Forbury Park Trotting Club meet at the 112-year-old venue.
At the time, it seemed hard to believe Forbury Park would no longer be part of the social and historic fabric of Dunedin and Otago.
Not only does the raceway have a strong emotional hold on many but also it is a significant physical presence in the city, a large oval of land which, viewed from above, takes up a big chunk of the southern suburbs.
This week’s acquisition of the 11.76ha site by the council shows life goes on for Forbury and emphasises the important role it can continue to play for the city.
Mayor Jules Radich is cock-a-hoop about the purchase, which was approved by 13-1 by the council this week. Only Cr Lee Vandervis voted against, while Cr Kevin Gilbert was away.
The mayor said it was a rare opportunity to buy so much undeveloped land with so many potential uses.
However, robust consultation with the local community will be crucial in determining the priorities for the land, which has been varyingly touted as useful for new housing, for managing stormwater in an area with drainage problems, and for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, including wetland development.
Whatever happens to that land, the trotting club itself has a long and distinguished history and it is to be hoped that will continue to be recognised in some way.
The council points out the acquisition aligns with the South Dunedin Future Programme and the St Clair-St Kilda Coastal Plan.
Forbury Park’s low-lying nature means it could be used to help with flood-protection across suburbs whose residents have not forgotten the disastrous June 2015 deluge.
The purchase of Forbury Park coincided this week with the release of a GNS Science report which outlines the latest scientific findings about the behaviour of groundwater in the South Dunedin and Harbourside areas.
The study, based on four years of water data recorded by below-ground sensors, is the first to model how groundwater can affect flooding.
While it is a salutary tale, it is not all bad news for the residents of those suburbs.
In fact, it provides a much-needed confidence boost with its conclusion that any direct seawater inundation from Otago Harbour is unlikely before 2100, kept at bay by a slight rise in ground-level close to Portsmouth Dr and the harbour edge.
GNS Science principal scientist Simon Cox says sea level would need to rise by as much as 60cm to 70cm for water to breach this lip and flow into lower-lying streets nearby. That finding is significant because it provides more time to prepare for the inevitable.
Dr Cox has another soupcon of good news. Much of South Dunedin and surrounds sits on relatively old and thick mud deposits through which groundwater can only move slowly.
That, and the finding the ground is less prone to tidal flow than thought, also allow more time for planning.
This is where the rejuvenated Forbury Park land could be very handy.
When a flood wave caused by heavy rain runs down the hills and cuts across South Dunedin to the harbour, it can be slowed down and its energy diminished by storing water in natural depressions such as Forbury, Bathgate and Tonga parks.
We think a wetland area with lakes, bays and other features on the Forbury land would be a sensible, vital, investment in the future of the area.
