Council ‘missing link’ in reserve upgrade project

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Author: Mike Tweed
• Publication title: Whanganui Chronicle

The reserve, located near Pākaraka and housing a former public swimming pool filled with silt, is owned by the council

Friends of the William Birch Pool Reserve founder Richard White said while it was unlikely to ever be fit for swimming again, the pool needed to be cleared out.

It has not been emptied for at least a decade.

Residents wanted to contribute to the project, White said.

“I think there is an opportunity for our [Friends] group to take the headache away from council a bit,” he said.

“Then, the numbers that were put to the council as part of the submission could be pruned back.”

The Whanganui West Catchment Group presented a funding proposal to the council’s aspirations and projects committee last year.

Track work and an initial pool clean-out required $80,000, with $7000 for signage design and installation, $15,000 for yearly maintenance work and $3000 to fix the reserve’s boundary fence.

After that, $25,000 was needed for yearly silt removal for the first five years, then $15,000 each year after that.

The proposal, one of 21 community initiatives considered for funding, did not make the cut for the council’s Long-Term Plan (LTP) for 2024-2034.

White said the council was the missing link in the project and it could not “just walk away”.

“The hardest thing about running a community project or group is funding,” he said.

“If we could just get a little bit of ratepayer money back on an annual basis, we can be charged with the responsibility of applying that money and looking after that asset.

“Because it’s in our backyard, we’ll do it with more pride.”

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the pool had heritage value to the community, “but we’ve had to make some tough calls”.

He said currently, the council was really constrained regarding what it could and couldn’t do.

“The first few years of the LTP are about keeping things affordable, but I would love to understand how we as a council can partner with the community to deliver on community projects,” he said.

“It goes without saying that it would be great to see the William Birch Pool back up and running again.

“Let’s keep progressing towards something that would make it work for the future.”

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