People in Christchurch's eastern suburbs may have to wait longer than expected to get a new aquatic centre to replace the now demolished QEII facility.
An aerial view of QEII park after the February and June 2011 earthquakes. Photo: AFP
It's been revealed at a meeting of the Christchurch City Council that the earthquake insurance proceeds from QEII, in city's east, will be put towards the Metro Sports Facility in the central business district.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel told Thursday's meeting that the insurance payouts for earthquake damaged council facilities are likely to be much lower than first expected.
She said that would result in it taking longer to rebuild some facilities than initially thought and would require priority to be given to some over others.
With the QEII payout now being spent exclusively on the Metro Sports facility, doubt remains about where the money to rebuild a replacement centre in the east will come from.
One of the councillors representing the area, David East, says the east has been without a swimming pool for three years now and people are right to feel their area has been forgotten.
A report the council ordered into its books and exactly how big the gap is between insurance proceeds and rebuild costs, is due to be delivered to councillors on Friday.