Construction begins on Ōmokoroa's new multimillion dollar playground

Ōmokoroa playground concepty design. Photo / Supplied

From kids to young-at-heart adults, a multi-million dollar playground being built in Ōmokoroa is another reason to be excited about summer.

Construction of Ōmokoroa Domain's playground has officially begun, which will bring a tower slide structure, a new double rope swing, trampolines, tunnels, and a hamster wheel.

Downer was awarded the playground construction contract in July, but works had been delayed until the final pieces of play equipment arrived from overseas.

The playground upgrade is funded through a mix of existing asset renewal funding and capital works funding.

Western Bay of Plenty Council's reserves and facilities projects and assets manager Scott Parker said they were "thrilled" the final pieces have arrived.

He said the playground will be ready for use in summer.

"It's been a long journey to get to this point. We undertook thorough community consultation over 18 months with tangata whēnua, representatives from the community, businesses, and schools," he said.

He said the final playground was designed to echo our community voices and provide a space for everyone to connect and have fun.

Local schools Ōmokoroa No 1, Ōmokoroa Point, Pahoia, Whakamarama and Te Puna were also involved in the design of the play equipment, giving the project team inspiration.

Parker said the effort and enthusiasm from students was great, and the team did their best to reflect their ideas.

The new playground is part of the Ōmokoroa Domain upgrade which will ultimately include a boardwalk along The Esplanade and foreshore, a covered BBQ, footpaths, fitness equipment and landscaping.

It is estimated that by 2050, the Ōmokoroa peninsula will be fully developed with 12,000 residents.

To cater for this significant growth and the need for continuing improvements to the peninsula's infrastructure, the council is undertaking a series of projects between now and 2022.

Overall, there are more than 15 Council-initiated projects, along with private development, which includes collaboration with tangata whenua, Pirirākau hapū; the Ministry of Education; and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

The total projects are estimated to cost $50 million, of which $14m is co-funded by the Government under its Shovel Ready Infrastructure Programme.

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