Plug pulled on community pool idea – for now

 

A local group says a recent survey floating the idea of a community pool in Mangawhai has received a very positive response, but population levels and funding mean the proposal is out of reach at this stage.

It’s not the first time the idea has been widely discussed.

“We realise Mangawhai is just a small community, but over a thousand responses to our survey was very positive and while this is an amazing place for community projects, the costs not just of building the pool but also maintaining it, make it too big a hurdle at this time,” said Anna Reason, spokesperson for the project investigation group.

Possible participants Kaipara District Council, while seeing the proposal in a positive light, would not contribute at this point.

Sport Northland criteria requires a population base of 20,000 before considering any involvement.

Discussions initially centred around a 25 metre, six lane pool, possibly all-weather, suited to learners, laps and exercise groups.

It was considered the ideal site would be within the Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ) complex.

Retired builder Noel Paget built a model of such a complex including pool, cafe and gymnasium in an early MAZ plan so the seed has been well and truly sown.

However an initial costing indicating an outlay of around $3.5 million plus ongoing costs for staffing, testing and maintenance put the project out of reach for the time being.

“We are not saying goodbye to it,” Anna told The Focus, “but it’s too big a hurdle to climb at present though I’m sure it will be re-visited again as the community grows both in terms of permanent residents and visitors.”