Ōhaupō Community Sport and Recreation Centre Trust trustee Ron Currie, left, with trust chair Debbie Glasson outside the Ōhaupō Hub.
Growing use of the Ōhaupō Hub has prompted discussions about further development of the site.
It’s a move the trust which oversees the Forkert Road facility says reflects community feedback it has received, and one it hopes will ultimately “bring the community together” even further.
The hub opened in 2020, and at the latest meeting of the Pirongia Ward Committee the Ōhaupō Community Sport and Recreation Centre Trust applied for a $10,000 discretionary fund grant to create a master concept plan as the organisation seeks to develop a bare paddock at Memorial Park, Ōhaupō.
The eight-person trust leases the land on which the hub – home to Ōhaupō Rugby Sports Club as well as community use spaces – sits from Waipā District Council.
One of the main community users is Kaipaki Bible Church, which meets at the hub on Sundays.
The trust, made up of four community representatives and four Ōhaupō Rugby Sports Club representatives, received $2000 towards the process of developing that master plan following the ward committee’s grants discussions.
Trust chair Debbie Glasson told The News the lease includes the paddock on the corner of Sandes St and Forkert Rd. The Ōhaupō community had voiced its needs for additional activities at the site.
In its application for a discretionary funds grant, the trust listed work on the nearby dog walking area, a mountain bike track, additional car parking spaces, safer road access and additional native planting as initiatives the trust would look at including in the master plan.
A fenced dog park could be accommodated in the paddock, the document stated. An additional road entrance is required to link the Forkert Rd entrance with a new one on Sandes St.
Discussions about a possible mountain bike track – initially slated to cost about $55,000 – had stemmed from young riders in the community having no such facilities available anywhere in the Ōhaupō community, the application said.
Glasson described the track as a “cool edition” if it went ahead, while trust member Ron Currie – present when The News visited the hub – added it was amazing how much a something like that would mean to riders in the community.
The trust’s application to the committee said both parking and road access were becoming an issue, particularly on busy
sports days held at the hub.
“I suppose what it comes down to is that there is already a broad usage and that’s wonderful,” Glasson said.
“If you drive past here on a day when the sports club and the church are both here, you’ll see how well it is used. It’s pretty full.”
But currently, that made parking “challenging” at times, she said.
Glasson added she felt increasing the number of parking spaces was a key area which would ultimately help overall usage at the hub grow in the future.
It was too early to discuss overall costs or time frames. Glasson said the trust would be astute about ensuring a feasibility study, and public consultation process regarding what the Ōhaupō community felt was best for the space, occurred before any work was undertaken.
“In the grand scheme of things what these discussions indicate is that already in the three years we’ve been open the facility has fast become a hub which is in demand, as was intended.
“And that’s wonderful to see because it’s a fantastic facility.
“We simply hope what results from the discussions we’re having regarding what additional activities could be facilitated here will also help bring more facets of the whole community here in increasing numbers.
“Growth is happening in Ōhaupō – lots of new families are coming to town – so on that front, it’s really exciting when you consider what’s possible here at the hub in the future,” she said.
The Ōhaupō Hub.
