It’s been a busy couple of months across the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area with several playground replacements completed in Bayswater, Devonport and Sunnynook.
“It’s really wonderful to have these fantastic projects finished, and see how much local families are loving them,” says local board chairperson Ruth Jackson.
“The builds generated so much local interest and excitement, that even as the tape and fences were being removed there were families pretty much queued up to try them out.”
Ruth says this year has seen a number of projects completed, with a host of other projects across the local board area underway and at various stages of planning and design.
“The absolutely best part of being on the local board is seeing projects like this bringing new ‘zing’ to our neighbourhoods, and being a part of what makes them great places to live.”
Lansdowne Reserve, Bayswater
In Bayswater the upgraded playground in Lansdowne Reserve features more natural colours and materials to integrate better with the coastal environment.
Keeping it natural continued with the play elements and design. Features include:
- Re-orientating the new swings to better integrate with the view and provide mixed-age seats and cooperative play opportunities.
- The embankment slide offers racing sliding for multiple young children, without large foundations and with minimal damage to the Pohutukawa root zone.
- The natural play elements, the balancing logs and rocks, offer imaginative play and invite interaction with the trees, without having to excavate.
The playground continues to cater for younger children but with more collaborative, balance, jumping and creative play opportunities.
Melrose Reserve, Devonport
In Devonport, kids and their families are loving the upgrade at Melrose Reserve where the old equipment has been replaced with colourful new play facilities. A new underground surface was laid for the safety of users, new edging and planting put in.
Sunnynook Park
As soon as the tape came down at Sunnynook Park, children were enjoying the much-anticipated play space in front of the community centre.
As well as new equipment the project included installing a concrete path and plaza area, new furniture and a drinking water fountain – something the community was keen to see included.
Ensuring our parks, facilities and open spaces are well maintained and meet the recreational and social needs for the community is one of the outcomes of the 2020 Devonport-Takapuna Local Board Plan [PDF]
