A long-awaited playground at Hāwea Flat is getting closer to fruition, with a resource consent application for the project now lodged.

The playground is proposed for McPhee Park, a reserve bordered by Loach Road and Long Grass Place, and it will include climbing structures up to two metres high, as well as seating, shade structures, and a public toilet.

The plans are the result of a collaborative effort by the Hāwea Playground Committee and QLDC, after which funding was brought forward from year three of the Long Term Plan to the current financial year.

The playground committee was formed a few years ago to help address the shortage of playgrounds in the Hāwea area.

Playground committee member Louise Merrall said a playground for Hāwea Flat was a “well-placed investment” given the growth in the number of young families in the area.

A report prepared by resource management and landscape planning consultants Vivian + Espie says the playground is proposed for the western road boundary of the park.

The 4004m2 recreation reserve is a flat, grassed site, currently only housing a tyre swing from a macrocarpa tree, and rugby goalposts.

McPhee Park in Hāwea Flat. PHOTO: Wānaka App

The subject site is within the Rural Residential Zone and the consent application will not be publicly notified.

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