Lease agreement make way for combined use

A lease for the area of Devonport Domain’s Vauxhall sports fields once occupied by the bowls club has been approved for combined use by the North Shore Rugby and Cricket Clubs.

The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board signed off on the arrangement last month, delivering on its promise to overturn a contested arrangement the previous divided board had made. This had split the site lease – and public opinion – by allowing Devonport Museum extended access to a 75sqm shed for storage purposes.

The decision, in September 2021, came after the sports clubs’ had applied to redevelop the whole site and were expecting this to be approved. They maintained that without full access to the site, their plans would be compromised.

The matter became a local-body election issue. Following Heart of the Shore’s defeat, the new board chair Toni van Tonder said the arrangement with the museum would be overturned. In October 2022, the museum gave notice it would terminate its occupancy.

The expanded site lease for the sports clubs runs until October 2031, with two further 10year rights of renewal to 2051. It includes the right to demolish the shed, known as Building B, which assessment by council staff last No-

Beach clean-up and racing at Opti champs

Around 200 young yachties will converge on Narrow Neck Beach this weekend for the Optimist nationals hosted by Wakatere Boating Club.

As part of the event a beach clean up will be held on 8 April, from 8.30am.

vember showed required spending of $20,500 to bring it up to full water-tightness.

Cricket club chair Hayden Smith said it was great to have the lease approved by the board. “Once that is signed we’re able to move into actual demolition.” He hoped this could begin in the next few months.

The next phase would be for the clubs to finalise design and plan the construction of the women’s clubrooms interior and have this signed off by council.

“It dragged on so long, that momentum was lost,” Smith said. Instead of the clubrooms being renovated for use as initially hoped for this 2023 rugby season, the aim was now to try to have it ready next summer.

Phase three of the project, to develop new training facilities that the community could access, was yet to be fully scoped out. But ideas previously mentioned, including cricket nets and basketball hoop .