From old stomping ground to breaking ground
Josh Hickford and Michael Braggins are having a full circle moment as they bring a multimillion dollar playground to life in an area they used to play as kids themselves.
The old play area at New Plymouth’s Kāwaroa Park has been removed and construction of the $6 million stage one of Destination Play is under way.
New Plymouth firm Clelands Construction, managed by Braggins, was revealed as the main contractor for the project yesterday.
Clelands will work closely with Denis Wheeler Earthmoving for the project.
“It’s so nice having local companies involved and there’s huge satisfaction for me in breaking ground,” said Hickford, who as chief executive of Taranaki Foundation has been leading the project in conjunction with Ngāti Te Whiti, New Plymouth District Council and NP Partners.
“It’s been a bit of a journey that started with an idea from Bryce [Barnett] that was a bit of a dream at the start.”
Construction of the play area will run from April to September, with new play equipment and outdoor seating installed from September to December, hopefully in time for the school summer holidays.
The new 22,000m2 play area, first announced in 2022, will be one of the country's biggest and will completely transform the area, which has been used as a playground for generations.
Stage one will feature an agility and fitness course, car park extension, hill play, pump track, sensory area, social spaces, timber deck, toilets, and water play.
Hickford remembers playing at the Kāwaroa playground with his twin sister as a child. “There’s a fair bit of nostalgia attached to Kāwaroa.
“The area is iconic and everyone has their memories of the pirate ship and the slides, we were kids playing there and now we’re in a position to lead something for the next generation to make memories.”
Braggins was pleased to bring together a group of like-minded subcontractors and suppliers to support the project He said the team were looking forward to embarking on the project to help create something special for local families.
“This project means a great deal to us as it presents an opportunity to bring to life the first Destination Playground for our region, transforming Kāwaroa into a highlight on our award-winning Coastal Walkway.”
Initially budgeted at $5.5m the project has been redesigned and refined to limit the impact of construction cost increases.
Despite that, the cost of the project has increased significantly from original estimate and is now being built in three stages.
Stage 1 is now budgeted at $6m. Of this, $3.8m is from donors, sponsors and philanthropic trusts, $1.5m is government funding and $690,000 is funded by council. Stage two will see an extensive adventure playground installed at an estimated to cost $2m. Fund-raising for this is already under way.
No budget or timeline has been released for stage 3, an “enjoyment and engagement” zone planned for the port end of the play area.