Auckland Council plan to use Takapuna Golf Course to prevent flooding risks 'hurts the game'
Photo:
Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire
New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox is lending his support to the campaign to save the Takapuna Golf Course on Auckland's North Shore, saying it is a true community asset.
Auckland Council was proposing
converting half the course into a flood catchment and recreational area
to to deal with potential flooding, after the area suffered badly in the 2023 Auckland Anniversary storm.
Council head of sustainable partnerships Tom Mansell said in a statement earlier this year that a wide range of flood mitigation options had been considered.
"A comprehensive range of interventions have been considered with the goal of delivering maximum flood reduction benefits in both the short and long-term. One of the proposed options includes developing AF Thomas Park, the site of the Takapuna golf course, into a recreational flood storage wetland."
The proposal was to use the land to capture about 550,000 litres of water during a storm, reducing the flood risk to 10 hectares of homes, nearby schools and North Shore Hospital.
The council was also working with Takapuna Golf Club to assess an alternative proposal, which would retain the 18-hole golf course while also acting as a flood catchment.
New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox said public, cheap golf courses such as Takapuna's were critical to the sport.
"You can literally just rock up at Takapuna, pay a green fee and go and play. If you go with a family, if you compare it to going to a rugby game or whatever it's a pretty comparable cost in that respect for four hours of family fun at a public golf course.
"New Zealand is considered really, really cheap for golf and if we lose a place like Takapuna we lose some of that, and I think it hurts the game a lot recreationally."
Fox was backing the golf club's
alternative proposal
to retain the golf course while also acting as a flood catchment, as was Golf NZ.
If Auckland Council's plan goes ahead, this 10th tee would no longer exist
Photo:
Davina Zimmer
Golf NZ chief executive Jeff Latch said converting half of the course into a stormwater reservoir would be a missed opportunity.
"Golf in New Zealand is on an absolute high - the growth that's taken place in terms of golf club membership has been 50 percent in the last five years. If you think about that for a mature sport like golf, that is just colossal growth.
"Auckland's got a real issue - there's this massive growth in demand and people wanting to play golf but we don't have enough golf courses, and so public golf courses like Takapuna are absolutely critical to enable golfers to actually go out and have a hit."
In a statement, Auckland Council said it would not prioritise golf enthusiasts over the need to protect people's lives and properties from extreme flooding. It said the golf club's alternative proposal was unfeasible due to cost and maintenance factors.
The council was now assessing Takapuna Golf Club's revised design and said it should be closer to a decision in the next couple of weeks.
Construction on any approved plan for the flood catchment at the golf course was not expected to begin until 2027.
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