St Leonard’s playground redevelopment welcomed by community

Hastings’ most recent redeveloped playground opened at the weekend, with equipment designed to reflect the rural activity of the nearby saleyards.

Situated in St Leonard’s Park, it’s the final of the three Raureka parks to receive an upgrade as part of Council’s adopted Raureka Parks Reserve Management Plan.

During the reserve management plan consultation process the community identified the need to upgrade the park to encourage visitors to stay for longer, and also to provide safe access for visitors given the busy nature of Southampton Street.

The upgraded park is fully fenced and features a dual toilet, off-street carparking and an upgraded playground, shade sails and picnic tables.

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst attended the opening and said it was fantastic to see the community’s enthusiasm about the new addition.

“This area of parkland, from where the Mākirikiri and Mākaramū rivers were spring fed has quite a history.

“The springs have dried up or were redirected, and what is now the park was once used as a metal quarry to build Hastings and was also a rubbish dump for a lot of the post-1931 earthquake debris.

“And now it’s a wonderful new playground that will ensure this is a space for whānau to come and play safely, somewhere our whole community to enjoy.”

The district’s agricultural sector has been recognised in the play equipment, which includes a custom stock truck, farm scene module and cow rocker to recognise the adjoining Stortford Lodge saleyards that have been in operation for 120 years.

As well as large numbers attending the opening celebration on Saturday, hundreds of people came out over the weekend to explore the new playground.

16 October 2023

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