Playground upgrades

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Playground renewals are planned based on different factors including asset condition, safety, usage, age of equipment, alignment with other projects and equity across neighbourhoods. There are over 88 public playgrounds across the city and on average we renew six playgrounds a year! 

Shade is considered during the design phase and we try to utilise natural shade from trees where possible and install shade sails over equipment and seating areas. The current Long-Term Plan funding is enabling us to improve shade structures at most sites as part of the playground renewal works.  To help improve shade in the long term we plant trees around each playground. 

Some playgrounds will be designed to allow for shade sails to be added in future, if additional funding becomes available through Council’s Long-Term Plan process. 

We want everyone to enjoy our playgrounds and aim to include features like accessible surfacing and pathways, seating and sensory play elements or basket swings in all playground renewals. Sometimes we are limited with site constraints such as steep terrain. Larger destination playgrounds generally offer more accessible and inclusive features than smaller neighbourhood playgrounds due to larger budgets. With neighbourhood playgrounds we try take a city- wide network approach to ensure accessible equipment is spread across the city, so all communities have access to inclusive play opportunities.  

We understand that construction of a playground during school holidays is an inconvenience, however this work is part of a broader, city-wide playground renewals programme, which renews six to seven playgrounds each year. Due to the scale and continuous nature of this programme, it’s common for at least one playground to be under construction at any given time. While we aim to avoid work during peak holiday periods, especially at our busiest parks, some overlap is unfortunately unavoidable. 

We replace equipment when it gets old and unsafe with new equipment so the playground will last another 15 years. Usually this means we can't reuse the old equipment somewhere else. We keep certain items to replace worn out or damaged parts at other playgrounds and if it's in good condition try to reuse some equipment items.  

Fencing is considered based on location, safety, and community feedback. Playgrounds near busy roads or waterways are more likely to be fenced. Smaller neighbourhood playgrounds are not fenced unless there’s a specific safety concern.  

All large destination playgrounds have rubbish bins near or in the playground, and some smaller neighbourhood playgrounds include them. We encourage park users to dispose of waste responsibly and take litter home.  

All large destination playgrounds have existing toilet facilities. For smaller neighbourhood playgrounds, toilets are not included due to space and budget constraints.  

Before any playground is renewed, we seek your feedback over a three to four-week period, with a Have Your Say online survey, pop-up session in the park and onsite signage and posters. We invite you to share ideas through the engagement period so we can consider and incorporate community feedback into the playground design. Your input helps us create spaces that reflect the needs and preferences of local families.