CPlay committee members Owen Jackson, Chris Fauth meeting with Parks and Timaru District Council Parks and Recreation Jane Morrison and Stormwater Specialist Uki Dele meet onsite to discuss the plans.

By Owen Jackson. CPlay Comittee Member

The Caroline Bay upgrade project (CPLAY) is an example of the local community working alongside the council to provide better health and social outcomes for the district. It is also an opportunity to benefit from the tourism spinoffs that an enhanced Caroline Bay would offer. 

In 2019 local radio announcer Owen Jackson (or “OJ” as he is known) approached Timaru District Council Parks and Recreation manager, Bill Steans to share his vision of what could possibly be achieved at the site of the current playground. 

“Bill was hugely supportive of the idea for an inclusive destination playground with a ‘heritage’ theme”, say’s OJ. “He encouraged me to put a committee together and to start working through a strategy to make the dream a reality.” 

“I’ve also had numerous positive discussions with current mayor Nigel Bowen and Timaru District Councilor, Peter Burt was a champion for the concept in its formative stages”, say’s OJ. “The playground site is administered by the TDC so it would’ve been difficult to have carried on if they hadn’t given me the thumbs up.”

CPLAY applied to the Timaru District Stimulus Fund in 2020 and in September were successful when the TDC councilors voted unanimously to support the project with a grant of $77, 867 for the deposit to engage the “FunMakers Process” with The Playground Centre.

OJ says, “Our successful submission to the Stimulus Fund showed us that the council were supportive of the project in a very public way and this has given us every confidence to move forward and realise our goal of creating an inclusive destination playground that the Timaru District community can be proud of.”

Discussions with the council around the drainage of the playground have also been positive and committee member, Chris Fauth says, “The intention is they will do site works immediately before our build to minimise disruption to site and also gives opportunities for joint gains to be made.”

On November 11th 2020 OJ met with Timaru District Mayor, Nigel Bowen, and Parks and Recreation Manager, Bill Steans who gave their personal endorsement of the project. A minimum of $500,000 has been pledged to be included in the draft planning consultation document which will be considered by councilors before public hearings toward the end of May. If successful it could be adopted for the TDC draft long term plan with a final decision announced on June 29th 2021.

“Ultimately”, say’s OJ, “we are a local community group working on behalf of the Timaru District Council to achieve something that the council may not have considered otherwise. Our plan is
to design the playground, fundraise for its completion with support from the TDC and then hand it back to the TDC when the project is completed early in 2022.”