More than 35,000 people from three targeted groups paid a free visit to the Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre in the final quarter of the last financial year.
Manurewa Local Board chair Matt Winiata says almost 20,000 visits were from seniors, more than 15,000 were adults supervising children, and 237 were visits by people with disabilities.
“We have long held that contributing to the pool so visits can remain free is money well spent.
“The figures are in line with previous quarters, so we can safely say many thousands of people have taken advantage of free entry.
“It’s also a good number when you consider the centre closed for a fortnight in June for scheduled maintenance,” he says.
“That renewal work included air-conditioning work, carpets the fitness rooms, pool tile repairs, replacement of roof skylights, and general servicing in the pool and plant room.”
The numbers were presented as part of the board’s work programme quarterly report, which also highlighted the recommendation to proceed on work on a community hub.
Work on updates at Manurewa Library has been deferred as part of that, because the community will share space at the Hill Road site.
Other highlights were an acknowledgement of the moth plant busting skills of the area’s young people, with 90 students from various schools collecting more than 17,000 pods as part of the Pest-Free South Auckland annual competition.
Winiata says that was 11,601 more pods than last year. “When you consider that every pod can contain thousands of seeds, the number of potential pest plants these young eco-warriors have removed from the local environment is remarkable.”
In the sports area, the board’s $150,000 commitment to Tōtara Park Mountain Bike Club to support the renewal of bike tracks was noted.
“We have a long and established relationship with a group that continues to do great things in a park that’s very much the centre of outdoor life in the community,” Winiata says.
There were also more than 170 different free park activations - events delivered by local groups in parks, that attracted 6,160 participants.
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