The Christchurch Rugby Club is complaining that privately owned land adjacent to its land is no longer available to it.
The club, who currently needs to access to its neighbour’s land to turn its park lights on and off say the private land is part of the club’s history and it will cost the club $30,000 to redirect the powers supply to the club’s park.
The land, now owned by the Coptic Orthodox Church was purchased last year after its Edgeware church was destroyed in the September 2010 earthquake.
The Church intends to build a church, complete with a 12 metre tower and gold domes.
Christchurch Rugby Club Deputy club captain, Nigel McAlister said the club has been locked out of the facility which is part of the Christchurch rugby club’s history.
He says there was a lack of community consultation over the church’s purchase of the land and the entrance to the park “feels like a fenced off prison”.
McAlister accused the council of not considering the loss of services to park users and Club president Matt Hinman said the proposed church “just felt wrong”.
Father Sourial Sourial, of the Coptic Church, said the rugby club had been welcomed with “respect and love” but said it needed to realise the site was privately owned.
“It’s a change for them and we understand that . . . but it’s not a public space any more.”
Church representative Mofreh Saleh said the club had been leaving the power on when it was not required and were not paying electricity costs.
He said the council had taken the “legal and correct steps” to grant resource consent.
Saleh said the church would conduct “quiet community activity” and wanted to build “something beautiful for the city of Christchurch”, he said.
Dr Nagi Bishay, an engineer for Christchurch Rugby Club sponsor, Kirk Roberts, has helped design the church and said it would be a “wonderful building” built to the highest of standards.
It was hoped construction would begin late this year and the project relied entirely on community and church donations.
Deb Jackson, from the Airport Guesthouse opposite the clubrooms, said she had “no problem whatsoever” with the proposed church.
“When that was a rugby club, we had issues with drinking and people throwing bottles . . . and peeing in letterboxes,” she said.
The Christchurch Rugby club was founded in 1863 and is the oldest rugby-playing club in the world.
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