The Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards are in danger of losing more than just members if they can't find the money to build their new clubrooms soon. 

The club is facing a second summer operating out of containers and portacoms after a report from StrucD Ltd in 2021 recommended they shut the building straight away. 

Still going strong with around 200 members, the club has a strong nippers programme but has already lost a number of lifeguards, with club chairman Matt Warren saying they are in danger of the club closing if they don't get a new building soon. 

Warren said operating out of the containers over last summer was "average to bad" but his club members "just got on with it because that's what they do". 

The old Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms will be destroyed soon. Photo / David Haxton 

"On the rainy days when there were north-westerlies coming straight in, patrolling the beach loses its appeal," he said. 

"There was no way to get out of the wind and for training, there were no hot showers afterwards." 

However, Surf Lifesaving New Zealand (SLSNZ) chief executive Paul Dalton said operating without proper clubrooms is not an unusual situation. 

Clubs in Christchurch had to operate for several years from temporary facilities after the earthquakes and the Lyall Bay Surf Life Saving Club also had similar challenges when they had several years without a clubhouse while they raised money to get their new building completed. 

"Unfortunately this is a reality of how we have to operate when things like this occur," Dalton said. 

An artist's impression of the new Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms. Image / Supplied 

With plans and resource consent for a new $5 million multipurpose building set further back from the beach, the club is looking for a major funder to get the building started, but funding options are scarce. 

The club was hoping to get funding from SLSNZ, which has received Government funding since 2020 for building projects, but missed out despite being the only club in New Zealand currently operating without a building. 

Dalton said they receive $2.75m per year for building projects which has to spread over as many projects as possible. 

"When clubs were last asked to submit requests in April for funding support for their building projects over the coming three years we had 25 clubs (out of 74 nationwide) put in requests. 

"Ten of the 25 were for new full-builds, 12 were for refurbishments or expansion of existing buildings and three were for help with developing future projects." 

Severe corrosion of steel column flanges and a base plate at the Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards clubrooms. Photo / Supplied 

Dalton said most of the 25 clubs would see their projects as urgent, with five other projects deemed more urgent than Paekākāriki based on a range of factors the organisation uses to determine the funding. 

"The biggest challenge for Paekākāriki was that other projects have been in development for much longer and have been able to get a lot more funding together to ensure they are in a position to start and finish their projects in the timeframe when the money is available."