Ashes to allies: Sport Bay of Plenty brings clubs together in Rotorua

In February 2020, Lakeview Golf and Country Club in Rotorua suffered an immeasurable loss, as their clubhouse went up in flames, razing 50 years of history to the ground.

But from the ashes of this catastrophe the club embraced a key facet of the Bay of Plenty Spaces and Places Strategy. The Bay of Plenty Spaces and Places Strategy offers a collaborative framework for regional planning of play, active recreation, and sport facilities in response to population growth and funding challenges. It aims to prioritise needs and enhance community well-being through an innovative network of spaces and places. One strategy encouraged as part of this model is the practice of ‘hubbing’ - the sharing of spaces and places to enable collective planning, advocacy and the sharing of resources and good practice.

This practice of sharing facilities is often well-received by funders and was therefore a potentially advantageous option for the golf club in hopes of rebuilding their fallen club house. Recognising this opportunity, Sport Bay of Plenty facilitated a collaboration with Rotorua Archery Club. While Lakeview had lost their clubhouse facilities in dramatic circumstances, the archery club had no fixed home, leasing a site with no option to renew beyond its expiration date.

The forging of this connection between the two clubs helped highlight clear incentives toward working together. One major positive was the improved ability to obtain funding, which eventuated via a $200,000 contribution from the Lottery Community Facilities Fund - which will help finance the new clubhouse build - and a further $86,000 from various other funders.

This was just one way in which sharing facilities helped improve sustainability for both clubs. As well as sharing the financial burden this method provided the potential to introduce both sports to a new and wider audience and a more prominent and secure location for the archery club.

But even prior to the club house being fully resurrected, Rotorua Archery has been actively working with Lakeview since 2022, using the driving range area on a Sunday for their club day. This has minimal impact on golf and a further space has been allocated for anytime practice - which can be used with no impact on golfers and no need to close the range.

Looking to the future, both clubs will share access to the new clubhouse once building is completed.

“We live in a complex economic environment, and as our physical activity preferences change, greater collaboration and innovative thinking are required to sustain the facilities we use,” says Sport BOP Spaces and Places team leader Duncan Pearce.

“We have found that when executed with a pragmatic approach, shared/multi-use facilities can achieve a number of key benefits in supporting clubs, while also delivering wider community outcomes.”

Lakeview is also developing other partnerships and collaborations with organisations such as Civil Defence Rotorua and Progress Ngongotaha, to extend the community reach and benefit of the facilities at the site as well as developing a learn to play golf programme in collaboration with local schools.

“This collaboration, while in the very early stages has been nothing but positive for Lakeview,” says a spokesperson from Lakeview Golf and Country Club.

“It has realised our vision of sharing our facilities with other groups and sports and shown other clubs what can be achieved.

It has opened the club to a new audience and helped to encourage that community interest we are keen to foster.”

That is a sentiment echoed by Rotorua Archery Club:

“For archery there are many benefits of the partnership with Lakeview, including the beautiful grounds with the amazing view – maintained by the golf club,” says a spokesperson from the club.

“We now have facilities such as toilets, power, water and the clubhouse which allows for indoor activities such as meetings and workshops.”

The Lakeview golf and archery collaboration is one case study profiled in the upcoming third edition of the Bay of Plenty Spaces and Places Strategy. By working collaboratively, Sport Bay of Plenty and councils across the region have already secured key regional achievements for sport and active recreation – with nine projects across Rotorua, Kawerau, Opotiki, Tauranga, Katikati, Whakatane and region-wide completed from the 2020 Strategy Review. Meanwhile, 14 other projects are currently in-progress.

The Bay of Plenty region is undergoing significant population growth, straining existing spaces for play, active recreation, and sport, while also increasing demand for new facilities. Despite this, funding for planning and development is limited, impacting the ability to create and maintain such spaces. The Spaces and Places Strategy will add value in the shaping of effective investment in the play, active recreation and sport sector - aiding councils, funders, and community organisations in decision-making regarding these spaces. Collaborative partners emphasize the importance of these spaces for promoting active lifestyles and community well-being, envisioning an innovative network that empowers the Bay of Plenty community for a prosperous future.