Surf club to replace building

Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club's plan to replace its rundown old clubhouse has been given a huge boost by the Tauranga City Council.

The mayor and councillors yesterday overrode staff advice and gave a clear steer that the council would support the project for a new clubhouse reorientated 90 degrees towards the coast. It shifts the current building's footprint in the dunes without increasing the 1500sq m lease area.

Council staff did not support permitting the lease before they had the chance to identify the potential impact on the reserve and whether there was another more suitable location.

Mayor Stuart Crosby said the issue needed to be addressed now and not in three or four years' time while they worked through the processes.

The current clubhouse was nearly 30 years old and was grossly inadequate to the needs of a club which served a population of 22,000 and rising to 40,000 to 50,000 people.

He said it could possibly become a centre of excellence for surf lifesaving in New Zealand.

Mr Crosby said the club needed certainty even though there would still be a lot of hurdles to cross before the project reached fruition.

"We need to minimise the risk and not add to the uncertainty."

He said the community was not losing anything, it was just shifting the clubhouse from one space to another.