Source: Auckland Council
A new playground will be funded and built at Hingaia by the Hugh Green Group as part of the wider Green Park residential development.
Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole says the company will also maintain the Catalina Avenue park for three years before handing it over to council.
“The park will cost the developers just $17 under $482,000 and we want to acknowledge the willingness the developers have shown in engaging with our Parks and Community Facilities people to create a
concept plan the park.
“The playground design incorporates nature play elements and caters to younger and older children on a neighbourhood scale.
“The plans line up well with both our Local Board Plan and the goals of the Papakura Play Network Gap Analysis for parks and recreation.
“The company has sought to provide a park capable of meeting the immediate leisure needs of the community that will grow in the area.”
The land measures 3325 square metres and is surrounded by a 20-metre esplanade reserve to the south and east. It is easily accessible from Park Estate Road, Emeral Avenue, and Park Green Avenue.
The site will sit well outside flood plains and contain a tower and slide, various play equipment – including for nature play – and park furniture.
The proposed plan aims to provide both passive and active recreation, landscaping, storytelling elements, and nature play.
The concept includes two play areas and an informal kick-around space, with the playground designed to offer children various play options that do not solely rely on equipment.
The area for younger children will be surrounded by appropriate vegetation, with the more senior area kept open.
By consolidating the areas into a single space, a larger and more usable green informal open space will stretch out to the coast.
A three-meter-wide pedestrian accessway with a similar concrete path will connect the neighbourhood park to the immediate roading network and Esplanade Reserve, providing a helpful pedestrian connection through the development.
“We did recommend shading structures over the proposed seating, but Council staff have advised us they attract vandalism and incur ongoing maintenance issues. Instead, trees will be located to provide shade,” Catchpole says.
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