Napier’s Sunken Gardens upgrade nearly finished

The nearly completed upgrades to the Sunken Gardens, including a new ramp (right) and access for maintenance vehicles (left). Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine

Upgrades to the Sunken Gardens on Napier’s Marine Parade are expected to be completed by the end of this month, after construction has taken longer than expected.

Work has been ongoing this year on the installation of a new ramp at the northern end of the picturesque gardens close to the city centre, a Napier City Council spokesperson said.

“The design of this ramp is quite complex due to the limited space, and as a result has taken longer to construct, but the end result will not only be fit for purpose, but aesthetically pleasing for all park users,” they said.

The gardens already had a ramp to help with accessibility, but a council spokesperson said it “was not fit for purpose”, and the new ramp was “designed to sit within the footprint of the existing ramp”.

Other upgrades have been made to accommodate access for maintenance vehicles.

Construction should be finished by the end of April and handrails installed in May.

The funding has come from the Government’s Better Off funding pool, which includes money to address accessibility issues within open spaces.

A new ramp has been installed near the Tom Parker Fountain (also off Marine Parade) as part of that funding.