A big year for Hastings' parks: Have your say on the plans
Three Hastings parks are under the microscope this year, and Hastings District Council is welcoming public feedback before it prepares any plans for their management.
Eskdale Park and Frimley Park will each get their first 10-year Reserve Management Plans, while the Tainui, Tauroa, Tanner and Hikanui Reserve Management Plan is being reviewed.
Reserve Management Plans identify how a park or reserve will be managed, protected and developed; canvassing everything from asset management and development, to planting and grounds care.
Eskdale Park.
The first phase, which began on Saturday runs until April 23, asks people how they use the park, what they like about the park, and how they think it could be improved. A Coffee in the Park event is being held at each of the parks, so residents can talk to the parks team about their vision.
The information from that first stage will be used to develop key themes and concepts, which will be made public for further input. Following that, a draft plan for each will be prepared and formal submissions will be called for.
Hastings District Council Eco District Subcommittee chair Ann Redstone said: “You can have a say on just one of the parks, or you may want to submit your ideas on all three. We encourage everyone with an interest in the parks and reserves to fill in Council’s My Voice My Choice surveys".
“It is important to remember that while our parks and reserves are for all of us who use them now, we also need to be thinking about how our grandchildren and their children might use them. We are the kaitiaki, charged with looking ahead for future generations, and that is a responsibility.”
Public Spaces Planning Manager Rachel Stuart said the council has added steps to its usual process for these plan preparations, including engaging a research company that will provide them with independent data and analysis on park use.
“We are assuring everyone that their views will be taken into account as we work through this plan to make the very best of these parks, for all of our current and future users.”
On-line copies of a survey are available at www.myvoicemychoice.co.nz, while hard copies will be available from Tuesday, March 9, in pockets attached to signs at the parks, Hastings’ libraries, and Council’s offices in Lyndon Rd East.
Frimley Park.
The Coffee in the Park days in this round of community consultation:
- Eskdale Park: 11am to 1pm, Saturday, March 20, 2021
- Tainui, Tanner, Tauroa and Hikanui Reserves: Tainui Reserve (Keirunga Rd entrance) 11am to 1pm, Sunday,
March 21, 2021 - Frimley Park: 11am to 1pm, Saturday, March 27, 2021.
