To roof or not to roof: Velodrome dominates Whanganui hearings
14 May, 2021 12:23 AM
4 minutes to read
A closed sign at the entrance to the Whanganui Velodrome. Photo / RNZ-Robin Martin
RNZ
By Robin Martin of RNZ
A proposal to roof the Whanganui Velodrome has dominated the city s Long Term Plan hearings this week.
The council wants to put a basic roof over the track for $20 million but many submitters want it to go further and budget for a multi-use facility, while a significant number say the velodrome has had its day and should be demolished.
The Whanganui Velodrome, with its Malaysian hardwood track, was considered one of the fastest in the world when it was built in 1995 and several New Zealand records have been set there.
Whanganui letters: Velodrome dream pie in the sky
30 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
A major reason for declining attendances at Cooks Gardens events is because TV and other electronic attractions have made massive in-roads into the daily lives of people, writes a reader. Photo / File
A major reason for declining attendances at Cooks Gardens events is because TV and other electronic attractions have made massive in-roads into the daily lives of people, writes a reader. Photo / File
Whanganui Chronicle
When I was a teenager I often attended the cycling competitions held at Cooks Gardens. I had no great interest in the sport but it was something to do of an evening.
Letters: We need housing in Whanganui more than the velodrome
8 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Whanganui Chronicle
It s time, councillors. I share Trevor Stratton s misgivings (Letters, April 7) about the district council s preferred option for a $20 million velodrome roofing project. I suspect many councillors were uneasy about giving that option the tick but chose what they saw as the line of least resistance, after enduring years of fierce lobbying by what became the Regional Velodrome Development Trust.
The squeakiest wheel of all has been councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan who, after years of velodrome lobbying, went all out in her 2019 campaign for a fifth term as the sole bearer of the Velodrome Events Centre banner.
Whanganui letters: Velodrome closure a tragic result
28 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
The closing of the velodrome is indeed a tragic result for our city. Whatever your point of view the residents of Whanganui must surely be wondering how the district council has allowed our world-class velodrome, an asset of the city, to deteriorate to the point of closure.
How has this happened after the spending of public money on all the reports and reviews?
Five years ago I remember talking with the volunteers involved in the Regional Velodrome Development Trust who have been trying their best not only to protect the velodrome by having it covered but develop it into a multi-purpose facility for the whole region.