Barbeque area at Whanganui’s Lorenzdale Park part of work to bring community together

Rebekah Manu with her child at the new barbecue area in Lorenzdale Park. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui’s Lorenzdale Park is undergoing a raft of developments to make it as inclusive as possible for its Gonville community.

A new barbecue area has been installed in the park, with tables and a communal grill for families to use.

The work was the product of Stone Soup, a community-led organisation working towards creating a connected neighbourhood in Gonville.

Community worker Kathleen Parnell said the barbecue area was part of a long-term project in the park, which has been in the works for four years.

The project has been divided into two stages, with stage one including installing exercise equipment and the barbecue area, while stage two will include a volleyball net, the replacement of one of the play areas, and the renovation of the park’s basketball court.

Parnell said the work was being undertaken based on feedback from the community.

“We do surveys, we do lots of engagement with people and they’re saying there’s nothing for our young people to do,” she said.

Initially, she said the group only planned on installing the exercise equipment but expanded the project after talking to their community.

Stone Soup has worked with Playground Centre, Sport Whanganui and the Whanganui District Council on the park, with funding from the Department of Internal Affairs, Whanganui Community Foundation, and Four Regions.

“We’re all working together and doing what we need to do,” she said.

The new excercise equipment at Lorenzdale Park. Photo / Bevan Conley

The work at the park was being done to help bring their community closer together, she said.

“We’ve had the opportunity to create a space where there was something free.”

“People have been isolated, a lot of people don’t have the money to go to Kowhai Park and some don’t have a car so we’re hopefully creating a space where families can come,” she said.

In line with this, work was being conducted to make the park as inclusive to all groups as possible.

The exercise equipment is usable for people of all ability levels.

The barbecue also had inclusivity in mind, with tables allowing wheelchairs to be used.

Stone Soup will also host events from the park and plans on bringing in an instructor for a few weeks to teach young people how to use the exercise equipment.

Parnell said the group were applying for more funding to complete the second stage of the project and hoped to have the park completed by the end of the year.