The early season finish for Hastings Splash Planet upset residents and out of town visitors. Photo / Supplied
The early season finish for Hastings Splash Planet upset residents and out of town visitors. Photo / Supplied
A Tauranga family who cancelled their trip to Hawke’s Bay because of the early closure of Splash Planet have hit out at the lack of warning.
Frustration is growing in the community at the state of the famous water park, which shut on Waitangi Day due to staff shortages.
Socialmedia posts from its final days of operation show parts of the park overgrown and in need of maintenance.
Tukituki MP Anna Lorck said Hastings District Council, which runs Splash Planet, should conduct a review of the much-loved facility, which draws residents and visitors alike in the hot summer months.
One family from Tauranga said they had already booked and planned to visit the Hastings water park on the weekend of February 11 and 12 when they heard of the closure.
“She was really looking forward to it as was the rest of us, but that’s not meant to be.
“But it’s really not cool for people out of town who have to book accommodation and time off work so far in advance,” Cook said.
The early end to Splash Planet's season ruined a family's Hawke's Bay trip. Photo / Paul Taylor
After finding out Splash Planet would be closed, Cook started looking at her options.
She and her husband had already paid for accommodation.
The couple asked if they could defer until next year when Splash Planet reopens and Cook was told they could defer it but only until March 2023.
“We lost $120 there,” she said.
The family has instead decided to head to Taupō and stay at the Taupō Holiday Park which has hydro slides, a swim-up bar and an ice cream bar.
Hastings District Council group manager of community wellbeing and services Rebekah Dinwoodie said it was “very disappointing” the family missed out on their visit to Splash Planet this year.
“We know [the closure is] hard for both locals and out-of-town visitors.”
Dinwoodie said HDC wasn’t worried that the short Splash Planet season would have any significant impact on Hastings visitor spending as the water park was open through the school holidays, the busiest part of the season.
Since the park opened in November, it also received a few bad reviews from those who did get a chance to go.
People took to social media sites such as Facebook and TikTok in the last few months to leave reviews on the condition of the water park.
One said: “Splash Planet is going downhill”, and another “it’s not what it used to be”.
Concerns have been raised about the cleanliness of the pools, overgrown greenery, and rundown playgrounds, along with some playgrounds that are out of use and fenced off.
Dinwoodie said due to labour shortages there have been some areas that have been less of a priority for staff, in particular the gardens, which are substantial.
Compounding the issues has been the impact of warm weather and heavy rainfall over the last few months, which has considerably increased the growth rate of all vegetation throughout the region, including at Splash Planet, Dinwoodie said.
She said mandatory preseason health and safety checks were carried out on the pools and playgrounds and continued throughout the season.
This year, the preseason checks resulted in some play equipment at Splash Planet having to be made unavailable to the public, due to not being able to repair or replace items, hence why they were closed off.
“We are confident that all facilities accessible to the public this season have been safe,” she said.
Tukituki MP Anna Lorck called for a review into Splash Planet after it shut its gates early. Photo / Supplied
Tukituki MP Anna Lorck said through the summer season, she had many concerned members of the community reach out about the condition of Splash Planet.
Lorck said she was calling for a full review to be undertaken and that all options be looked at for the future of the facility.
She understands people’s disappointment and has said there needs to be an opportunity for public input into its future, many have mixed views.
“All ideas should be on the table for its future and viability,” Lorck said.
HDC chief executive Nigel Bickle said the council would conduct a post-season review over the coming months as normal, a report on which will come to the council for consideration.
He went on to explain that it had been a challenging season, grappling with labour shortages that are affecting the country as a whole.
“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to recruit the numbers of qualified staff we need to ensure a great experience, as well as the safety of visitors to the facility.
We will be conducting a post-season review over the coming months, a report on which will come to the council for consideration.”
