Letters: $190,000 playground renewal, isite relocation

Centennial Cres Reserve play area in Elgin, one of two Elgin play spaces that could be consolidated into a single upgraded play space. Photo / File

Letters to the Editor

Re: Gisborne’s Elgin to get $190,000 renewal for ‘outdated’ playground space (Page 4, June 11).

The Gisborne council decided to spend $190,000, a major part of its next three-year play spaces budget, on developing “a more significant community-level play space” for the suburb of Elgin.

Yet the area’s Cobham School will be officially closed on June 27, after the roll had fallen since 2020, and an Education Review Office report noted significant concerns and a need for improvements regarding attendance, engagement and achievement [Story first published February 22].

It was noted that attendance for kids attending 90-100% of the time fluctuated from 32% to 80% despite incentives.

Former student Bonnie Parata, whose children also attended Cobham, was quoted as saying the school and the Elgin area were in decline, and she worried about the outcomes for the area when the school closed.

When asked whether the school’s closure could affect the council’s future development strategy, director of sustainable futures Jo Noble said, “... [the] council has also initiated the preparation of a master plan for Elgin and the closure of the school will be considered as part of its development”.

Yet there was no mention of the school’s closure, or the implications, at the meeting which decided on the $190,000 play space development.

In my opinion, comments by councillors on the play space redevelopment indicate a naive view in the face of what are deep-seated societal problems underlying the school’s closure.

It is hardly believable to me that this area and its residents will somehow be “uplifted” by more play equipment and a bit of landscaping.

This is papering over the reasons why some suburbs become run-down.

“Under-investment” is one way of putting it – but I strongly suggest there are deeper and more confronting causes which underlie deprivation and its results.

Elgin – and other areas in Gisborne – certainly need a better share of attention, but I suggest it needs a more considered, in-depth and multi-agency approach than this proposal.

I believe residents and their children deserve better, as do ratepayers in the spending of their money.

Roger Handford

Gisborne

Re: Relocation of Gisborne’s old isite (Page 1, June 18).

There is an old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I believe this specifically applies to the isite and in no way should be confused with tourism promotion in the region, which I believe certainly needs fixing.

Frank Murphy

Gisborne

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