St John faced with $3m headache

St John's Pererika St base is in need of a major upgrade. Photo / Ben Fraser

St John Ambulance Rotorua is faced with finding $3 million for a "massive rebuild" after calling off its move from Pererika St.

The decision to stay at its current location followed the announcement that plans for the Victoria St Arterial route had been cancelled.

The approximately $50 million highway project was axed after Rotorua District Council decided it was no longer needed.

Rotorua St John Area committee chairman Ross Burns said the facilities were going to be bulldozed to make way for the bypass and had fallen into disrepair in the past 10 years.

"It wasn't going to be as simple as picking a nice site and moving our gear in. We needed to consider access points, facilities and location, making the process a long one. Now we have to look at a massive rebuild to upgrade our current 1960s facilities which no longer suit our needs.

"The scrapping of the bypass allows us to refocus our plans in this area.

"Our operational needs have evolved over the last 10 years and with that comes the necessity to rebuild and update our facilities to better suit the wider Rotorua community."

Mr Burns said delays while waiting for the outcome had been challenging for staff.

He said since the scrapping of the Victoria St Arterial, rebuild plans and requirements could now be finalised.

"We were a bit up in the air when the bypass was still on the cards but now at least we know where we stand. The new challenge is finding about $3 million to upgrade our site and deliver a new brighter and more efficient site to service the community now and into the future."

Mr Burns did not expect to raise the full amount needed from community fundraising.

"We do have some funds which we accumulated over the last 10 years but that will only cover some of the costs.

"We will be looking at some of the bigger businesses in town to help out.

"When we thought we would have to move, we were going to be getting compensation from the council but now we won't have that money to play with."

The council's strategy and partnerships group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said it was working with St John to see how it could help.

"The council doesn't have a mandate to fund ambulance services but we're working closely with St John to see if we can assist with the identification of a suitable alternative temporary site for their operations while they redevelop their existing premises," he said.

"St John provides a critical service for our community and we're very keen to support them where we can to help ensure these services are not unduly disrupted while their base is being redeveloped."

He said council had kept St John informed of the progress of the road and its subsequent axing.

"Once it became clear that government funding would no longer be available for the Victoria St development we moved quickly to give certainty to St John to allow them to move forward with their site development plans.

"We certainly appreciate the patience and understanding they have shown and we value the good relationship we have with the organisation as one of our important community partners."