Pressing need for toilet at Lakes playground as popularity grows

The playground and potential site for a public toilet near The Lakes neighbourhood shopping centre. Photo/Andrew Warner.

The growing popularity of a playground that features Tauranga's only flying fox has ramped up pressure on the city council to spend $200,000 on a new toilet block at The Lakes.

"This is not a nice-to-have, it is really essential," Harrison Grierson consultants Tauranga manager David Needham said.

Mr Needham was making a case for the council to pay for a public toilet at the playground next to The Lakes' new neighbourhood shopping centre.

He said the need for toilets had become quite a big issue. Parents of children caught short were making a dash to the restaurant toilet, with a posse of mums asking, where were the toilets.

Sixty to 80 children were using the playground on some mornings during school holidays, with queues for all the equipment.

"It is more than a local community playground...it is pulling people from all around Tauranga."

Mr Needham said The Lakes developer had spent $310,000 on the reserve and playground which included Tauranga's only flying fox.

The toilet block was the second to last piece in The Lakes development puzzle, with the primary school due to open in about 18 months the last piece. Ideally, the three cubicle toilet should be built before next summer, he said.

A provision was made for the toilet during construction of the playground, including water and wastewater connections and power ducts.

Councillor Larry Baldock said it was just crazy that whenever the council built a simple toilet, it cost $200,000 to $300,000.

Mayor Greg Brownless said they had to make the toilets bullet proof because of the small minority of people that caused destruction and havoc.