The right spaces in the right places.
That's the aim of a new active recreation and sport strategy for Whangārei, being developed in partnership between Whangārei District Council, Sport Northland and Sport NZ.
Council senior strategic planner Bernadette Aperahama said the strategy will help the council identify and prioritise active recreation and sport needs across the district.
"We're doing this work now in anticipation of what goes into the 2021 - 2031 Long Term Plan."
The first step in creating the strategy is to hear from the public via a series of surveys.
There is a survey for schools, a survey for active recreation and sports organisations, a survey for marae and a survey for the wider community.
The community survey is available for everyone to do and asks about the types of activities people do, how frequently they do it, what some of the challenges they face carrying out these activities are, and what the biggest changes the council could make are.
Aperahama stressed the organisation survey was for informal groups like those who get together for a walk, as well as sports clubs.
"If we only hear from official groups we're cutting out a lot of community needs."
Aperahama said active recreation was anything that gets a person's heart rate up that they do for fun for their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
She said that could be anything from waka ama or fishing to kapa haka and dance but also includes all the traditional sports.
"If you want to go for a surf, do you have the toilets and changing facilities you need?"
Aperahama said they want to include the casual active person - those who meet to do tai chi in the park, or go for a weekly walk.
She said one of the things the strategy will look at is "do we have the right spaces in the right places?"
"The way we exercise is totally changing so the traditional models we have used are not as relevant as they once were."
Aperahama said that could be things like having a central hub for a number of sports clubs, rather than each having their own field. The strategy will ensure the district is keeping up with changing trends.
The organisation survey closes on August 30, while the community survey closes on September 6. There are prizes up for grabs for completed entries.
So far 147 people have responded to the community survey, 33 to the organisations and groups and 13 to the schools survey.
Aperahama said the last time an active recreation strategy was created by the council was in 2003.
A number of projects identified in that strategy have since been implemented around Whangārei including getting three water turfs at the Hockey Stadium, rebuilding the netball courts, the tennis centre getting new courts, development of the gymnastics centre and development of the aquatic centre.
The new strategy will also feed into the refresh of the Northland facilities plan, driven by Sport Northland and Sport NZ.
The surveys are available on the council's website, in hard copy from Forum North and the library or alternatively contact Bernadette Aperahama on (09) 470 3038 or bernadette.aperahama@wdc.govt.nz