Crux poll: 87% opposition to Ladies Mile sports field plan

A Crux 24 hour poll with over 500 respondents has shown strong opposition to the QLDC's plan to spend a further $6.5 million on three sports fields at the "toxic house" site on Ladies Mile.

Instead a majority of people wanted the site to be used for a new council headquarters and for the Queenstown CBD Project Manawa site to be sold. Our poll identified the opportunity for the proceeds from such a sale to go towards Wānaka sports fields or the reduction in council debt.

The full results of the poll were:

• 46.3%. Scrap the current sports field plan and propose the site be used for a new QLDC council building. Sell the Project Manawa site in the Queenstown CBD to fund construction and produce a surplus for Wānaka sports fields or debt reduction.
• 29.7%. Scrap the current Ladies Mile plan and spend the $6.5 million on Wānaka sports field projects.
• 13%. Spend the $6.5 million as proposed by QLDC on 3 new Ladies Mile sports fields and move the temporary Luggate Hall to the site as a community centre. 
• 10.9%. Scrap the current plan and use the land and $6.5 million finding for on site worker accommodation.

Of the poll respondents 72 commented either to reinforce their vote are suggest a variation. One of the most prominent comments was the level of QLDC debt and the option to spend a lower amount or nothing.

Here's a selection of comments from the poll and here's the link to the full comments which Crux will send to the QLDC and individual councillors for their consideration. 

• We're way past being able to fund the "nice to haves" and the QLDC is incapable of delivering any kind of project in a cost-effective manner. So 516 Ladies Mile should be sold at maximum value and all proceeds applied to debt reduction.
• Scrap the current plan and use the funds to pay for badly needed infrastructure, sports field and community rooms are needed but finish one project at a time instead of all these half done jobs.
• Scrap project Manawa another admin white elephant project use funds to create three sports fields at Ladies mile without need for refurbished Luggate Hall which was past its use by date. Allocate some funds to Wanaka Ballantyne Rd sportsfields due to chronic lack of sports fields in Upper Clutha. It's a reprioritisation within existing funding.
• Scrap project Manawa plans, plan a council office in more appropriate location such as Frankton , use savings in Wanaka to invest in sports fields and green spaces
• Use common sense. Place a moratorium on all spending, sort out the high cost non-sanctioned pet projects, reduce operating expenses, take a professional attitude and reinforce the issue, QLDC have no availabile funds only debt. Fix this elephant in the room first.
• Scrap and use funds for arts in Wanaka. A te atamara in Wanaka. Not everyone plays sport.
• Split the $6.5. $3m for sports fields in wanaka, $3.5m for worker accommodation. See Te Anau’s concept they have moved fast on. You’d get around 25-30 units which is a great start! Best of both worlds
• Develop two playing fields on existing reserve land at Wigeon Pl below Lake Hayes Estate. Sell half the land at 516 to the Ministry of Education for a future school. Sell half the Stanley St site and use proceeds to build basic office building in Frankton.
• Sports fields are all well & good but it makes no odds when people can’t keep a roof over their heads or feed their families. QLDC is in a mountain of debt & dipping into peoples bank accounts. Stop spending money you don’t have.
• Neither of above options meet the needs. 1. It is not Qldc responsibility to provide worker accomodation. Council has no business to be in housing, it is not councils role to be involved in any shape or form in housing other than resource and building consent processes. 2 council should establish council offices at Remarkables Park , consider a library on the Queenstown primary school site, sell project Manawa site, repurpose memorial hall.3 before pursuing ladies mile site proposal council Ned’s to justify the 6.5m cost and release it to the ratepayers. What is 6.5m buying? Perhaps council might consider staging developments across the region, enables progress for each community. The same should apply to the swimming pool that emerged in the past week. Re releasing costs of projects- it is no longer acceptable to use commercial sensitivity as a reason not to release project costs. I have no qualms about councils purchase of the ladies mile land. The issue now is how it is used, sports fields are a god option, but the proposal now proposed (luggate hall) and the costs appears somewhat extraordinary.
• None of the above. These are all nice to haves. Sell the land for development and pay down debt. Save the rate payers money. Not spend, spend, spend all the time.
• Sell ladies mile, sell the land in central qtn. Use money to pay down debt. No spending on 3rd swimming pool, retrench all spending on nice to haves for the next 5 years. Focus on water, sewage, and roading. Make do with what we have for 5 years.