Ascot Park’s all set to get $3m upgrade
Ascot Park might be in for a name change.
Established in the 1960s, the 13-hectare patch of open ground, not the suburb, is badly in need of a makeover, Ascot Park Neighbours Association chairman Gareth Foster said.
Working with Porirua City Council and with funds from the village planning programme, a landscape architect has drawn up plans for an upgrade costing up to $3 million.
A dog exercise area below Te Kura Maori o Porirua is the first cab off the rank this financial year, Foster said.
‘‘The whole park is tired and we want to make it a community hub, where people come to,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s no ‘bump point’ ... where people can congregate. We’re all about the three As - all ages, activities and access. A lot of people are talking about the dog park.’’
Along with a new play area for 5 to 12-year-olds, plans show a bike track, community orchard, fitness stations, a path around the edge of the park, extra parking and landscaping - all likely to be staged over the coming years.
There could be a name change on the horizon, too.
‘‘You have Ascot Park the park and you have Ascot Park the sub- urb,’’ Foster said.
‘‘Wouldn’t it be great to have the name for the park linked back to something historical in the area, or keep with the racehorse theme we have with the streets? We really want the community involved the whole way in what’s being proposed.’’
To that end, a public meeting is being held in the Rangikura School staffroom on September 13, from 7pm. Foster said Ascot Park Neighbours Association members and Porirua City Council officers will be there to answer any questions the public might have.
The council has been willing and helpful through this process, Foster said.
One part of the re-design that will invoke a lot of discussion is a two-storey community centre, with changing rooms, which would be sited below the kura. It is an expensive item, but Foster hoped it would gain some traction as the changing sheds next to the current park - affectionately known as ‘‘the bunker’’ - are an uninviting throwback to a bygone era.
The association is also in talks with Countdown about upgrading a walkway from Conclusion St down to the new supermarket.