Residents fighting to build emergency centre

Otago Daily Times

13-05-2025

Residents have shared Steadfast Reserve with the Sea Cadets since it was purchased by the old Banks Peninsula District Council in 1999.
It was used as a recreational area and hosted play groups, pot luck dinners and parties.
Former Banks Peninsula mayor and Cass Bay Residents' Association secretary Noeline Allan said after the amalgamation with the city council in 2006, the public was locked out of the reserve and threatened with prosecution if they trespassed.
The association wants to build a multi-purpose community centre and emergency hub at the reserve.
But it has been told its preferred site is off limits due to the historic garage which already occupies the land.
'It was agreed those (activities) would continue, so not letting the community in was a breach of that commitment,' said Allan.
But she said the Sea Cadets regained access while members of the public did not.
After 14 years of lobbying from the community, residents were finally granted access to the reserve to start regenerative projects in 2020.
The community has since planted more than 10,000 trees on the reserve.
Allan said the association and the Sea Cadets came to an understanding last year about how the reserve would be shared and any future projects would work in tandem.
Said association chair Jenny Healey: 'It's a growing community and as the community grows we ultimately need somewhere we can congregate.'
With no current community hub, gatherings are held at residents' houses.
But in the event of an emergency, this will not be sufficient, Healey said.
Despite being close to Lyttelton and Rapaki, Cass Bay has been cut off in both directions by rock falls in the past, she said.
'We can't always guarantee that we can safely exit the bay.'
The association identified a site at the reserve which is currently occupied by a heritage building known as the 'garage'. The garage was originally HMNZS Tasman shipwright shop at Naval Point and was relocated to Cass Bay in 1956.
It was used to house the navy armament depot's vehicles and as a workshop.
Said Banks Peninsula city councillor Tyrone Fields: 'Anybody that's ever looked at it would think it's a rickety old shed filled with asbestos, rot, mould and completely unsafe.'
Fields said the city council's policy of not demolishing heritage buildings prevented it from being removed from the reserve.
'Council's policy is what it is and in my view we need to find a way through that.'
Steadfast Reserve was a navy armament depot during World War 2. It is currently occupied by old bunkers, a drill hall, a wardroom and a guard room.
A land history and community conservation report was under taken by the city council in 2022, Healey said.
Other areas of the reserve were considered for the community centre and emergency hub but the association maintains the garage is the best site.
Healey said this was due to the garage being on a flat section and being accessible older people.
Te Pataka o Rakaihautu Banks Peninsula Community Board members Lyn Leslie, Jillian Frater and Asif Hussain visited Steadfast Reserve last month with Fields and Healey.
Said Healey: 'We got the impression they understood why this is the best site, given our community needs.'
Fields agreed: 'The community doesn't see the value in (the garage), and if nobody sees the value in it, you have to start wondering, does it have value?
'I'd knock the garage over tomorrow if I could,' Fields said.
Allan said four separate builders have described the garage as 'derelict and should not be renovated'.
'There's drainage issues, black mould and the electricity is very questionable. Everyone says that building should come down,' she said.
A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said the building was not derelict.
But Allan said at a meeting three years ago attended by about 10 council staff and the association, it was verbally agreed the garage would come down before the 2022 local body elections.
The information was not relayed to the previous community board, Allan said.
'We ended up with a new board who had no background.'
In October, Healey attended a board meeting in a bid to acquire a lease for Steadfast Reserve.
She said the Sea Cadets were granted a lease but the association was not.
Said Allan: 'The memorandum of understanding was ignored.'
She said the association was in a position to start fundraising to build the centre but was forced to stop.
'There was a rule applied to us that wasn't applied to the Sea Cadets.
'Every time we think we are getting somewhere, another barrier gets put in place.
'It's almost got to a point of pettiness, there's no logical reason for it (garage) to remain.
'A lot of money comes out of the community as ratepayers and we can't get served by our council.'
Healey said the community 'just want to move forward and we want a clear timeframe for doing that'.
A feasibility study for the hub has been completed but more detail is required before it is presented to the community board, where the association will hope to receive a lease and agree upon a site.
When the Sea Cadets built its dormitory hall at Steadfast Reserve, it did not have to produce a feasibility study, said Allan. 'One party is being treated quite differently to the other.'