How a playground comes to life
News
Rotorua Lakes Council owns and maintains 78 playgrounds across Rotorua. They are an important hub in each neighbourhood, providing safe spaces for whānau to spend time together, encourage physical activity and enable people to enjoy to nature.
Each year, council invests almost $1 million on upgrading and replacing playgrounds in Rotorua. Each playground is prioritised according to the condition of the play equipment and suitability for the community using it.
A crucial part of making sure a playground works for its neighbourhood is understanding the wants and needs of those who will be using it. Prior to construction, council staff spend time engaging with the local community to understand what an ideal playground would look like.
Recreation and Environment Advisor Saskia Du Plessis values the local voices and enjoys building relationships within the community.
“We aim to create play spaces that are accessible, fun, safe and appealing for all ages and abilities and reflect the voices of the people who use them.”
“It takes time to deliver a new playground and make sure it provides a sense of place for those in the neighbourhood. Our first step is to develop important relationships within the community, engaging with as many people as possible through surveys, workshops with schools and by holding public activitations so neighbours can come along and share their views with us.”
“Incorporating the community’s views and aspirations in the design helps creates a sense of ownership which encourages more use, and means the neighbourhood values the space that much more.”
Over the past 12 months council upgraded the playgrounds at Chaucer Place, Haumingi Park in Rotoiti, Scott Avenue, Kaingaroa Village and Ngongotahā Domain and has begun the process for creating new playgrounds at Karenga Park, Boyes Park and Ōhinemutu.
During planning, there are a number of items that must be considered:
Work is currently underway developing the new playground at Boyes Park in Glenholme. During the engagement process, council staff spent time with students from two kura, Rotorua Seventh Day Adventist School and Glenholme Primary School.
“We’ve had such a positive response from the community for this playground,” says Saskia Du Plessis. “Everyone, especially the students, has put a lot of effort into their feedback. We had a lot of fun developing ideas with the tamariki, and it’s great that the schools were open to working with us.”
“The hardest part about creating these spaces is working with a limited budget and knowing we can’t always create the destination playgrounds that we know each community would love. The best part however, is inviting the community back once we’re finished and seeing how much the children love seeing their ideas come to life.”
Once the draft plan for Boyes Park is complete, council will update the community with more information about the next steps for construction in the first half of the year.
To check out all of the playgrounds available in Rotorua head to the interactive map on council’s website Maps – Playgrounds and Skate Parks