Hundreds of people have signed a petition opposing Whakatāne District Council’s plans to revamp sports and leisure facilities at Rex Morpeth Park.

The council has asked the public to submit on four options for a Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub Master Plan, with cost estimates of between $75 million and $154 million.

Monday had been the final day for the public to make submissions on the plan, however, due to the amount of public interest, the council announced yesterday that this would now be pushed back until 5pm on Wednesday.

Whakatāne resident Raewyn Kingsley Smith started a petition objecting to any money being spent on a recreation hub, saying a new bridge for Whakatāne should be prioritised over all other spending.

Ms Kingsley Smith and two friends set up tables in Margaret Mahy Court, near the entrance to the council building, at lunchtime on Monday and gathered 344 signatures for her petition over the afternoon.

The draft plan acknowledged that current cost of living difficulties made it “tricky” to discuss investments of this kind. However, it also highlighted the importance of planning for future generations. It said any development would be “staged over time” and it was important to “have credible plans in order to seek external funding”.

Attempts were made by council staff to speak to the petitioners about the importance of planning for the recreation hub and let them know it would not affect its attempts gain funding through New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. However, the petitioners were not deterred in their objective.

Community experience general manager Georgina Fletcher said it was great to see people coming and sharing their voice, “as we’ve encouraged them to do through earlier and current consultation opportunities”.

Crowds gathered at Margaret Mahy Court to sign a petition for Whakatāne District Council to prioritise spending on a new bridge rather than plan for improved sporting facilities.

“The Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub is one of Whakatāne district's most loved and used community assets, and it is integral to the health and wellbeing of our communities. The facilities and fields have served us well but what we have now does not meet current and future needs and children are already missing out.

“We also know an additional river crossing is a high priority, which is why a proposed business case for this is in development. It’s important people know that it’s not quite as simple as an either-or situation between funding a bridge or funding a recreation hub. Both projects are being prioritised, and careful planning is required for each of these.

“Funding for an additional bridge relies largely on Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and this petition will go towards one of many council and community requests for this funding to be prioritised."

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.