Parks and Recreation Levels of Service

The Community provided valuable input which enabled the Hearings Panel to develop solutions based on the community responses.

Overall the level of feedback and community engagement in the process was one of the most significant on any recent Council project.

More than 800 brochure and 600 summary documents were collected by members of the public.

From what the community has told us we have developed a range of recommended levels of service they feel will more accurately reflect the community needs while assisting the ongoing development of parks.

The changes clearly show that we have listened to our community and responded to their views on what should be on their parks and how they should be maintained.

They are environmentally and economically sustainable and recognise the importance of our stewardship role.

Playgrounds
The Waimakariri District Council will be maintaining all playgrounds across the District although the scale of equipment will change in some.

Originally the Council was proposing removing some equipment as it became outdated and unsafe, but Recreation Manager Craig Sargison says the community has made it clear it values the amenity value of these areas and wishes them to be retained as playgrounds, not just open spaces.

The Community and Recreation Committee has now confirmed that all existing playgrounds on neighbourhood reserves will retain at least swings and a slide.

Community Playgrounds will be maintained and further developed.

Four District Playgrounds, containing a wider range of challenging equipment, are also recommended for Pearson Park, Dudley Park, Kaiapoi Riverbanks and Gladstone Park/Eastern Districts.

The timing and development will be determined by the Community and Recreation Committee.

Rubbish Bins
Rubbish Bin Free parks will be trialled across the District, as proposed in the consultation document.

The trials would be undertaken at:
• the beach communities
• Kaiapoi Lakes
• Pearson Park (excluding the skateboard area)
• Elephant Park (Rangiora)

The trial will involve an education programme as well as the removal of the existing rubbish bins. A programme and timetable for this, together with a suggested evaluation process, will be developed for the consideration of the Community and Recreation Committee.

In key dog walking areas special bins will be introduced for dog waste. This will also be done on a trial basis for 12 months and the results reported to Community and Recreation Committee.

Sports Grounds and Tennis Courts
There was general community support for the concept of two types of sports grounds and the panel supports the proposed two levels of sports grounds: premier and community, but has supported some changes to the categorisation of some of the grounds.

The consultation also demonstrated tennis courts are used by a wide section of the community on both a structured and non structured basis with the non structured casual use seeming to be of equal importance to the community as the formal club programmed games.

Tennis court surface maintenance should be the responsibility of the Council in the same way as half courts are provided in community parks for community use.

The Council will work in partnership with local communities, whereby the community takes responsibility for the cleaning of the courts, the maintenance of line markings and the provision of nets. Staff will ensure that minor surface maintenance is attended to regularly and the assessment of the courts indicates that it is feasible to undertake the surface repairs and necessary resurfacing on the basis of one per year. Staff will prepare a report with a recommended replacement programme for the courts in the District.

General
There are several other recommendations relating to a variety of other matters such as buildings, street gardens and BMX tracks etc.
The changes are summarised on the attached brochure or the for more detail click on the full levels of service document which contains the details relating to each type of reserve.

Associated Documents
Full Levels of Service Document (pdf 203kb)
Levels of Service Summary Brochure (pdf 881kb)