Deal ensures top-class facilities

Damon Harvey (left), Mark Aspden, Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, Wairoa Mayor Craig Little and chairman of Hawke's Bay Regional Council Fenton Wilson at the signing of the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Facilities Plan Memorandum of Understanding. Photo / Supplied

New sport facilities proposed for Hawke's Bay will be put through a robust checklist following an agreement backed by the region's five mayors and Sport Hawke's Bay.

The signing of the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Facilities Plan Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aims to ensure the province has a region-wide view of the provision, development and support of sport and recreation facilities, Sport Hawke's Bay chairman Damon Harvey said

"This is a significant agreement to collaboratively work together to make sure we meet the needs of the community in the development of sport facilities.

"It means that rather than one party deciding they want a facility, it will firstly be tested through key principles to ensure it meets current and future demand," Mr Harvey said. There will be five key principles that will guide the decision-making process. These include the development of a network and hierarchy of sport facilities to meet a range of different needs from community through to international sport.

The facilities should also encompass multi-use of spaces to ensure best use of the resources.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson said the regional facilities plan would be a guiding light in the upgrade of existing facilities and investment in new infrastructure.

"We are blessed with some outstanding community facilities such as Russell Park in Central Hawke's Bay, through to the Regional Sports Park and Park Island where sport at the highest level can be hosted.

"Going forward, we will be guided by the key principles before any decisions are made.

The regional sport facilities plan was developed in February.

It identified priorities where participation was increasing but there were insufficient sport facilities to meet demand.

Indoor court sports such as basketball and volleyball as well as gym sports were found to need more facility space, as did softball and cricket. Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said the purpose of the MOU was to ensure the region did not have wasteful duplication of sports facilities.

"What we are saying is that planning for the physical structures that sports require should be done on a regional basis.

"The term 'shared services' is a broad one. This is effectively a shared service to ensure money spent on sports facilities is spent wisely," Mr Dalton said.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said he supported the new approach which meant each facility would go through a process to determine the demand, location and funding arrangements.