Close to 300 people have had their say on a controversial council plan to convert land at the Cromwell Racecourse into sports fields.

Central Otago District Council (CODC) asked for feedback from members of the public on its vision for the 93-hectare reserve, as it seeks to develop a management plan for the public space.

CODC parks and recreation manager Gordon Bailey said 291 submissions were received in response to the council’s draft plan, after the submission period closed on Monday (July 14).

Twenty-eight of the submissions were prepared by young people, who were given the option to complete a targeted response form provided by the council.

Three public drop-in sessions on the options were held during the consultation period.

“We had a good level of community engagement and attendance at the sessions,” Gordon said.

It was now over to the Cromwell Community Board to chew over the submissions and make some recommendations.

“Community feedback will be taken into consideration and a revised plan will be submitted for council approval,” the council staffer said.

Cromwell community board member and ward councillor Sarah Browne admitted elected members had a job ahead of them to balance the needs of different groups.

Sarah said almost as many people had submitted on the future of the Cromwell Racecourse as they had on Southern Water Done Well, and that showed how invested some people were in plans for the public space.

However, she cautioned submissions were often “skewed towards the people that don't like what you're doing”, when it came to any council consultation.

“The silence is overwhelming from a lot of people, and they're the ones that either don't care or are happy.”

She said the job now for elected members was to “focus on doing what is best for the town and the best that we can do for everyone, not at anyone’s expense”.

“We will be listening. We are here to work with the people and for the people, not against them.”

The racecourse reserve is largely used by the local equestrian community, who had voiced concern that horses, horse riding and crowds of people coming to play and watch team sports weren’t a safe mix.

There was fear they stood to be the biggest losers if sections of the reserve land were carved up for sports fields.

Meanwhile, some team sports representatives worried a future focus on revamping the racecourse, located on the far side of State Highway Six, could undermine the traditional homes for various codes right in the heart of Cromwell, close to schools and the bulk of the town’s residential neighbourhoods.

As part of its draft plan, the council included proposed layout maps tweaking green spaces at Alpha Street and Anderson Park, used by football, rugby and cricket clubs for practices and games throughout the year.

Sarah said the council was obliged to have reserve management plans that were up to date, but it was working to future proof them too.

“We're being proactive and saying, ‘What is going to happen to Cromwell in the future?’. 

“We’ll need sports grounds, so let's get ahead of ourselves.”

Gordon Bailey confirmed AI would be used to help analyse and report on submissions, after the successful utilisation of Dashlet during the Long Term Plan process earlier in the year, when it took just four days for staff to work through more than 1,200 submissions rather than the expected two to three weeks.

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