Waipā District Council resumes maintenance of parks and reserves

Waipā District Council Parks and reserves supervisor Stephen Bagnall. Photo / Supplied

Parks and reserves around Waipā are seeing a surge in activity as council staff restart maintenance following the shift to alert level 3.

Over the coming weeks, Waipā District Council parks staff will be mowing grass around town centres, neighbourhood parks, cemeteries, sports fields and pensioner housing units.

They will be resuming maintenance of the Te Awamutu Rose Garden, War Memorial Park, Anzac Green, council grounds and Lake Te Koo Utu in Cambridge.

Staff will also clear walking tracks, remove annual flower beds and undertake streetscaping work.

Council community services manager Sally Sheedy said staff are determined to bring parks and reserves back to standard to ensure spaces are well-kept and safe to use.

Waipā District Council parks operator Joanne Anderson. Photo / Supplied

"Previous alert level 4 health guidelines meant regular maintenance was not permitted, so with the shift in alert levels we are delighted to be giving our popular green spaces some much-needed attention," says Sally.

"It may take several weeks for us to catch up on maintenance, but we're confident our parks and reserves will be back in shape in no time."

Council manages more than 200 parks across 4122 hectares, with staff working year-round to maintain and enhance the spaces.

Sally reminds residents to keep at least two metres of space between themselves and council staff when using parks and reserves for fresh air and exercise.

"If you see our staff in the field, please remember to keep your distance from them - but they won't mind a friendly wave," says Sally.

Although parks and reserves remain open, playgrounds, community barbecue spaces, skate parks and pump tracks across the district are closed at alert level 3 due to the risk of spreading Covid-19 on surfaces.

For more information on council services in alert level 3 visit waipadc.govt.nz/covid-19-information.