Parking fix for Hawke's Bay sports hub gains momentum

Hastings councillors have backed a new master plan for Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park (Mitre 10 Park) that would see it expand to allow for more car parking.

However, at a council meeting on Tuesday, councillors Simon Nixon and Kevin Watkins asked that their votes against it be recorded.

Councillor Alwyn Corban declared a conflict of interest, while councillor Kellie Jessup was absent, leaving 11 councillors voting in favour and two against.

The premier sporting venue has faced ongoing parking and traffic issues, with reports of people parking on the grass verge.

Endorsing the master plan does not mean every project it proposes has been approved or funded, but does allows planning for improvements to parking and traffic flow at the existing park to progress, including detailed designs, costings and consent requirements.

The council set aside $1.5 million in 2023 for car park and access upgrades at the park, with $1.135 million remaining in the 2026/27 budget.

About $800,000 is estimated to cover immediate improvements, subject to detailed design and final costing.

Council also approved up to $100,000 from the existing car park budget for technical assessments and planning work to rezone the 8.5ha land council bought in 2023 for future sports facilities and additional parking.

The council-owned land sits north of the existing sports park, between the athletics precinct and Evenden Road.

It was purchased by Council in 2023 as a strategic investment to provide future growth capacity for the park and was zoned "Deferred Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park", with underlying "Plains Production Zone" land rules still applying.

The initial car park improvements are expected to provide 169 spaces, although further parking will be needed to meet demand.

Nixon said the park was a wonderful facility, but questioned the amount of money being spent on parking.

"We are proposing to spend a significant amount of money providing car parks," he said.

"Any major city in the country wouldn't be doing this."

Nixon said other cities would encourage people to use public transport instead.

"They would say, 'get the bus'. We have buses going to the sports park, which does provide an alternative.

"If people can't get to the sports park, quite simply they are going to have to find another way, and they either get on their bikes or their shank's pony or catch the bus, which would be more viable if people used it."

Mayor Wendy Schollum reminded councillors they were not debating car parking funding, which had already been approved and included in the budget.

"What we were talking about today was receiving the report, endorsing the Mitre 10 Park Master Plan Strategic Framework and Staged Investment Plan, and noting the many things outlined in this discussion," she said.

Mitre 10 Park general manager Glenn Lucas told Hawke's Bay Today earlier this year the existing parking was not working.

He said it was why people parked on the grass "because there are not enough parking spaces, and traffic flow is a problem".

"It is absolutely a top priority. Since I started this job three years ago, it's the first thing that people say to me."