More Than Just A Marine Centre

Although the proposed Marine Centre as the name implies has a marine sports and activity focus community needs extend far further.

The analysis we had completed indicates that demand exists for a broad range of community spaces that can accommodate non-marine and marine activities alike.

We found that during peak and shoulder times many existing community use spaces were reported as being fully booked. The need exists for functional community spaces of varying sizes.

To cater for a broader range of community uses the facility needs to move away from being a ‘clubroom’ orientated space to one that can:
• Accommodate up to three different non-marine activity users at the same time (while still meeting marine users needs such as training and water access).
• Offer different size spaces that can be flexible enough to expand and contract depending on the functionality requirements of the different community users.

In essence the facility should be viewed as a marine sports centre and a community hub in one. We have been told that if well designed the facility can meet both sports and wider community needs. Our research said that the overall shared perception was that the proposed Marine Sports Centre needed to cater to a ‘broad church’ and not be captured by one or two sports clubs at the expense of generating wider community benefit.

It is considered essential that the proposed facility includes water access, watercraft storage, and community meeting spaces. The facility has now been redesigned to facilitate simultaneous marine sport and community use. For example, the lower level of the facility can accommodate marine training while the upper level accommodates up to three different community activities of different scales.

The location has been confirmed and Resource Consent granted without a single objection. The Marine Centre will be built on Boundary Road (at the bottom of Launch Road) with a wharf extending over 40 metres out to the deep water meaning all tide access.

The initial concept design that was used to gain resource consent is set out below;

The concept designs here show both the ground level that is predominantly storage, and the upstairs which is where the new “yacht club” bar will be located along with a large and flexible function space so multiple community activities being undertaken at the same time, and of course a big deck with uninterrupted views of the harbour.

Of course we will ensure that it’s design allows for a wide variety of uses, but that also means it’s not going to be cheap to build.

Getting Started Soon

The first stage of this development will be starting soon.

You will start to see the building platform and wharf being constructed over the next few months and the hope is that these will be completed before next summer.

We are now ready to start a major push for fund raising for the construction of the building.

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