At Ōpōtiki District Council’s Tender sub-committee last week, Creo Playground builders were chosen as the successful tenderers for the new playground in Whitikau Reserve.
Council’s Planning and Regulatory Group Manager, Gerard McCormack, said that the design put forward by Creo strongly reflected community feedback and most of the elements the community had asked for.
“We partnered with Healthy Families East Cape to bring Ōpōtiki Primary School and Te Kura o Omarumutu together to get some great feedback from local tamariki about what their dream playground would look like, and the sorts of things they like to play on and do. You may remember we shared drawings and videos from tamariki and rangatahi which was a great starting point for our design.
“Some of the other feedback we got was that it should strongly represent our places and people – the two rivers coming together was a recurring theme and something we wanted to reflect in the design.
“Creo took all this feedback on board and added their own expertise in this area, making sure there were elements that were accessible for all ages and abilities, those in wheelchairs, those with more appetite for a little risk and the necessary considerations about health and safety.
“Their design met this brief and made a few changes to keep in budget. We think the end result is going to be spectacular,” Mr McCormack said.
Mr McCormack said that the rendered video would be available soon on Council’s Facebook page and website for people to have a look at. Much of the work and construction can be completed off-site. But the final earthworks and installation will be weather-dependant.
“Ōpōtiki celebrates Matariki so well, and if we can get our stars to align, we hope that the installation can be complete in time for the Matariki holiday later this year. We’ll keep everyone updated as that deadline approaches,” Mr McCormack said.
