A concept plan for Kai-paawhara / Kirikiri Reserve in Papakura has been approved, with the project now moving to the detailed design and physical works stage.
Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says the concept plan reflects the input received during extensive consultation work with stakeholders, mana whenua and the local community.
“We worked with the community in 2022 and its input has been invaluable.
“The days when a council just rocked up and built a swing are long gone, and what will be put in place at Kirikiri will see much of what the community advocated for become a reality.”
The community indicated strong support for more exciting, interesting, and inclusive play, he says, and requested the layout consider not only functionality but also security.
“The concept plan responds to those calls from locals, as it should.
“The community is best placed to identify opportunities for better use of the reserve. Locals know better than anyone what development will meet their needs, and the recreational demands of the area’s rapidly growing population.”
He says the next steps will be to commence detailed design and construction in the 2023/2024 financial year.
Kai-paawhara / Kirikiri Reserve was acquired by council to provide a neighbourhood park for a new community. It is almost 2000 square metres and is surrounded by residential housing, making it ideal for easy walking access for residents.
“We well recall local residents coming to the board in 2018 and calling for a park to be built, and we know that more housing is going to demand there are more recreational park sites for the people who choose to make their homes here,” Catchpole says.
The concept plan includes path access, seating, planting for landscape and shade, play space, litter bins and signage, with $850,000 allocated to fund the work.
Kai-paawhara was gifted by mana whenua Te Ākitai Waiohua and adopted as part of the council’s Te Kete Rukurukuru naming programme.
It means dried food – in this instance a reference to fish, which were caught in the area’s streams and creeks, gutted and laid out to dry in the area as a way of preserving food resources. It also refers to nearby Kaipara Road, which is a shortening of kai-paawhara.
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