Papakura Local Parks Management Plan

This consultation closed on 11 November 2023. Thank you for having your say.

We received 96 pieces of feedback.

These came via:

online feedback form (32 submissions)
our Social Pinpoint engagement tool (53 submissions)
email and postal submissions (11 - including three late submissions).

Five organisations also sent in feedback. They are:

Friends of Kirks Bush
Papakura City Football Club
Papakura Rugby Club
Papakura Youth Council
Transpower.

Key feedback themes

Local parks most mentioned

210 Clevedon Road
71 Twins Parks Rise
Marybeth Reserve
Pukeroa Reserve
Papatakaro Reserve
Ray Small Park.

Play

Play-related feedback included requests for:

play equipment that is suitable for young children and toddlers
a playground at 210 Clevedon Road and 71 Twin Parks Rise
water play options (such as a water splash pad)
space for free play (such as ball games), nature and traditional Māori play.
fenced playgrounds for children’s safety.

Events/socialising

Feedback showed that:

local parks are used for family activities such as picnics, barbecues and games
parks such as Papatakaro Reserve are used by family groups and attract visitors outside of the Papakura area.

We had requests for:

more playgrounds and equipment suitable for families with young children
a shaded pavilion, picnic facilities and a destination playground to attract people, kids and community events at Bruce Pulman Park.

Accessibility and connectivity

Four people were concerned about a lack of facilities for disabled people (including those with autism or with a physical disability) in local parks.
We received a request for a cycle network between the Waimana Reserve and Great South Road to provide better access to the reserve.

Safety

Safety-related feedback included:

concerns about safety, vandalism and limited surveillance
requests for closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras
a suggestion to have a regular park caretaker to discourage vandalism at reserves like Chichester and Marybeth.

Requests for new facilities

Requests included:

tracks for walking and biking
picnic tables, benches, bins and shelters
CCTV and lighting
a new pool complex and improved aquatic facilities for water-based sports (such as water hockey) at Massey Park and Ōpaheke Park
requests for changing rooms and showers at rugby league at Prince Edward Park.

Requests for new facilities (assets) are not the responsibility of the local parks management plan and have been passed on to the area operations manager.

Maintenance

Many people raised concerns related to maintenance issues including:

rubbish dumping and bin maintenance
outdated play and exercise equipment
overgrown grass areas
uneven surfaces and surface holes which have health and safety dangers (Ray Small Park)
unhygienic public toilet (Ray Small Park)
lack of hot water in winter (Prince Edward Park).

Maintenance issues are not the responsibility of the local parks management plan. We will forward relevant comments to the operations team.

Walking and exercise

Feedback showed that:

many people use local parks for walking
several people like to use exercise equipment
people enjoy boardwalks within Prince Edward Park, Ray Small Park and Pāhurehure Esplanade Reserve to view the coastal landscape.

We also had requests to establish a wider variety of exercise equipment at 71 Twin Parks Rise and Pāhurehure Esplanade Reserve.

Comments from volunteer groups and organisations

Papakura Rugby Club

We received requests to:

provide adequate fields at Massey Park for both junior and senior rugby during winter
provide floodlighting for the fields
close the public toilets and install CCTV at Massey Park.

The feedback also showed that members of the rugby club are concerned about safety at the public toilets and arson (deliberate fires being lit to cause damage).

Papakura City Football

Feedback showed that the football club would like a multi-use artificial turf at Mclennan Park.

Papakura Youth Council

We received requests from Papakura Youth Council for:

more paths and better protection of the waterfront including a water edge barrier at Hingaia Park
a half-court basketball court
more bins
better maintenance, provision of more water fountains, swings and water parks
a shelter at Hingaia Esplanade Reserve, equipment and facilities for older people.

Feedback also showed that:

people enjoy using local parks to walk, access gym equipment, enjoy open space areas, play volleyball
people are concerned that the public toilets at Ray Small Park are a health hazard
people feel that the play equipment is sometimes unsuitable for young children.

Friends of Kirks Bush

Feedback showed that at parks such as Butterworth Block, Herkts Bush, Margans Bush and Willis Bush, people value:

green space
bush and native trees
native birds.

We received requests to:

re-establish volunteer groups for bush areas (for example Butterworth Block, Herkts Bush, Margans Bush, Willis Bush)
improve bush maintenance (for example bush clean-up, checking damaged trees and nests, graffiti and rubbish prevention).

Transpower

Feedback from Transpower includes:

a request that the local parks management plan make specific reference to parks that are crossed by national grid transmission lines (for example tree planting under national grid line)
a comment highlighting that land use and development activities in parks with high voltage transmission lines can present a risk to people or property, or the national grid itself, and require appropriate management.