More than 700 people have had their say on Playspace Whakatū, the new playground set to take pride of place in Whakatū Nelson’s Rutherford Park.

Around 200 primary school students kicked off the engagement process in February, collaborating and creating their dream playspaces through drawings, miniature models and oral submissions. A further 500 people had their say online, while 54 made physical submissions at public collection points.

Playspace Whakatū is being led by Ngā Iwi o Te Tauihu in collaboration with Nelson City Council, making use of $2.4M awarded to Council from central Government’s Better Off fund under the previous Three Waters reform. Council also committed just over $600,000 to the project under the Long Term Plan 2024-2034.

Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui chief executive Justin Carter said it had been heartening to see the effort put in by tamariki in Whakatū, alongside their whānau and the wider community.

“Ultimately, this is a space for our tamariki, and their ideas have been truly inspiring. Our main aim with this project is to create an intergenerational and accessible space, and it’s amazing to have so many thoughtful and creative ideas to consider as we move forward,” he said.

“Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to share their thoughts.”

Some of the more creative ideas have included a whole plane, a giant Mako head, a candy machine, a swimming pool and a zoo, while many of the more practical submissions covered the need for shade, fencing and water.

Zip lines, an adventure playground and water features like splash pads were a common theme, as was the need to create an accessible and inclusive space for all.

“We can’t do it all, given limited resources, however there is a lot riding on this new space and we will do our best to include as many of the common features as we can, within our constraints,” Justin said.

While the submission process was underway, a robust procurement process has also been underway to appoint a design and build partner for the project. The appointed partner will be announced early next month.

“Once the design and build partner is appointed, they’ll be provided with all of the submissions to help them create an amazing, accessible playspace that tells the story of Whakatū, is appealing to all ages and will attract families to the city centre,” Justin said.

If you want to keep up to date with progress on the playspace, head to www.playspacewhakatū.nz to sign up for email updates.

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