Farewell planned before village playground closes

An artist's impression of what the finished upgrade of the Havelock Domain could look like.

A last hurrah for the playground in the Village Green in Havelock North this weekend heralds the start of the work on a new one to be finished by summer.

On Sunday the public is invited to a celebration on the Green from 10am to noon, before the playground is closed on Monday.

Plans and drawings of the new design will be on show and there will be children's activities including face-painting, a bouncy castle, sausage sizzle and coffee cart.

The activity area of the park will be fenced off from Monday when the building that has until now housed Plunket and the Toy Library is moved off site, ready for the historic cricket pavilion to be shifted there.

The new $1.5 million playground will include an all-year-round water play feature and new play equipment including swings, slides, climbing frame and merry-go-round. It will also be set up for table tennis and chess, meaning every age group will be catered for.

The open day also serves as a farewell, albeit temporary, to Havelock North Plunket and the Toy Library.

The Plunket staff are this week moving into the Hastings Plunket office and the Toy Library is moving a few metres into a temporary shelter in the St Columbas carpark.

Both will move back into dedicated areas of the cricket pavilion once it is shifted on to its new central site.

The moving of the pavilion should be soon, with tenders for the shifting job just closed.

The original plan was to leave the historic pavilion where it was. However, public submissions asked that it be moved to a more central position where it would be better used.

Council agreed, provided the community helped fundraise the $300,000 needed to pay for it.

The Havelock North Business Association is taking the lead on the public fundraising front and is planning to set up a Givealittle page.