Springfield Submission to the Rotorua Lakes Council.
A 5000-strong petition aimed at saving Springfield golf course from a proposed housing and sports fields redevelopment has been delivered.
Saving Springfield president Robert Lee presented the petition - with 5017 signatures - to a Rotorua Lakes Council meeting on Thursday morning, accompanied by about 25 people in the public gallery.
The petition asked the council to recognise and declare the golf course as a taonga and to continue the golf course's lease after 2027, when it is due to end.
Lee said petitioners rejected the proposal to develop the golf course into sports fields and housing.
"To the golf [club] the golf course is a taonga. This is not just any golf course, this is Danny Lee's home course, New Zealand's top golfer in the last 10 years.
"More than that, it is their tūrangawaewae.
"To the residents who live in the area, who made investment decisions over the last 70 years, it is also a taonga."
Saving Springfield president Robert Lee. Photo / Andrew Warner
He said people from outside Springfield signed the petition as well.
"Not because they have any affection or affinity to the golf course. $61 million is a lot of money for the ratepayers to pay to turn the sports field into a sports field."
He said in his opinion those who supported the proposal had a "horse in this race" and were usually "senior figures" from other sporting codes or council employees.
He said he had "serious reservations" about the process to date.
Lee said the council had advised the timeline for the project was for it to be in the next Long-term Plan.
"Nevertheless, the council released a draft Long-term Plan in March 2021 and the Westbrook precinct proposal is in there at $61m.
"I note that it appears in the Long-term Plan and it hasn't gone out for public consultation, it hasn't even been discussed at a full council meeting, there has been no vote by the elected members on this proposal.
"I would submit this council simply cannot slip an item like this into the Long-term Plan without following the proper and correct processes.
"The people of Rotorua expect more, expect better.
"This is going to be a major election issue in 2022 and we need some transparency."
Springfield golf course. Photo / File
Deputy mayor Dave Donaldson, who was chairing the meeting, said no decision on the proposal had been made by the council.
"The project has been signalled to be part of community consultation in the 2024-2034 Long-term Plan.
"In order to bring this conversation to the community as part of the Long-term Plan process, [the] council advised the proposal would need further investigation and planning work in the meantime to ensure it was in the best position to be considered."
Mayor Steve Chadwick was not at the meeting as she was attending a funeral.
Springfield Golf Club vice president Gary Herbert also spoke to the council at the meeting.
He said the golf club was in the best position it had been in for the past 15 to 20 years.
He said the petition showed people not just in Springfield but across Rotorua "don't want a sport and recreation precinct in Springfield".
Herbert presented a letter for council chief executive requesting to renew the lease on the land for a further 33 years after 2027.
He said he'd moved back into the area partly because of the golf course.
Springfield Golf Club vice-president Gary Herbert. Photo / Andrew Warner
"If it gets closed, I will be moving. I'll be out of there. I don't want to be living in an environment that gets created by a sports precinct. The travel, the lighting, the noise - the list goes on.
He said moving sporting communities into one area would "rip the heart out" of the smaller communities of Rotorua and would take away the "passion and rivalry" of local clubs.
The council announced its vision for the Westbrook Sport and Recreation Precinct in March last year.
That proposal would incorporate Westbrook Reserve, Ray Boord Park, Smallbone Park, Rotorua International Stadium, Westbrook netball courts and the Springfield Golf Course.
At the time, the council said Rotorua's sports grounds and facilities were insufficient and incapable of coping with future demand.
The idea was put on ice in May last year, with the council citing Covid-19 for the delay.
In March this year, the proposal appeared again as part of documentation for the council's 2021-2031 Long-term Plan, as part of the 10-year capital expenditure programme.
In that document, just over $61 million was earmarked for the project.
