Written by CPlay team

Happy New Year and hello 2023! This is the year the playground will be built and we are so excited to bring you some updates on where things are at on this exciting project and our construction start date!

In summary... 

• The playground construction contractors are confirmed.
• Most of the CPlay project costs are now under contract agreement.
• Total budget for the new Caroline Bay Playground is $2,982,000 excl GST.
• Thanks to your support CPlay has raised $2,832,000.
• CPlay volunteers are working to raise $150,000 to match scope with budget.
• The elements of project currently under contract agreement (earthworks, surfacing, playground equipment) = 96.2% of the projects costs.
• Percentage of project not under current formal agreement (additional: pataka, signage, story telling, enhanced seating, shade and landscape elements) 3.8%.
• The last few details of the playground design are almost complete.
• The plan to manage storm water has been confirmed by Timaru District Council. 
• The lighthouse is almost complete, the shipwreck construction is about to get underway.
• The Playground Centre are loading the equipment into two containers to send to Timaru.
• Security fences go up 20th March 2023 so the site can be cleared and ready for earthworks.
  
• The Paddling Pool, Courts and Bike Skills Park will be accessable to the public.
• Timaru District Council plans to use swales, rain gardens and a pump to improve drainage.
• We aim to open the new playground in September/October 2023. 
  

 "The CPlay team are absolutely delighted to be entering the final phase of the playground development.  This has been a huge project involving many volunteered hours but the finish line is now in sight and we are working with the various contractors and the Timaru District Council to deliver a very special playground for the community to enjoy." – OJ (Owen Jackson) CPlay Chairperson

Most of the playground construction costs are now under contract agreement.

 With the completion of the tendering process we’re now able to move from estimates to knowing exactly how much the project will cost. 

Rooney Earthmoving Ltd will be the project’s earth moving contractor, doing all the groundworks needed to provide a solid foundation for all our new equipment. Play surface specialist Numat will be supplying and installing the play surfacing. These were the last two major pieces of the project to confirm. 

Cost inflation has been a keyword for many projects of this type over the past year, and despite the level of planning it wasn’t until we had detailed working drawings and surface specification that we could get a final price.

“As with many projects over the past couple of years we have faced our challenges but we have never lost faith in our ability to make this important project a reality.  We still have a little fundraising left to be done in order to reach our target but we have a solid plan in place to achieve this.  Support is still coming in for the playground and just last week a South Canterbury family donated $10,000 so that their family and other local families will benefit for many years to come." – OJ (Owen Jackson) CPlay Chairperson

What’s the plan to make up the difference?

We are now in the final phase of fundraising.Thanks to the additional contribution from Timaru District Council of $300,000, reflecting the high quality of surfacing they specified, we now have $150,000 left to raise to match scope with budget. 

We plan to do this by applying for grants in the new funding rounds, inviting work in kind, and looking at other ways of benefiting from Community Fundraising. As well as that, hopefully there are people in the community who would still like to donate to help us reach the target.
You can visit our website and donate here: www.cplay.co.nz

“We can't stress enough how grateful our CPlay team are for the support we've had from local business, grants providers, our local council and from our community. It has been humbling to watch people donate money, time, energy and a genuine enthusiasm for the project. We are a small community with an extremely generous heart." – OJ (Owen Jackson) CPlay Chairperson

Are the TDC running the project now?

CPlay is responsible for design and fundraising, but we’re working with Timaru District Coundil to benefit from their technical expertise as well as their systems and processes for regulatory issues like procurement and certification.TDC is managing the construction of the playground in collaboration with the CPlay project manager. All of this is overseen by a Joint Steering Group made up of both key CPlay and TDC team members.

ABOVE: Meeting held in January with Project Manager Graham Ward and various project partners to plan the construction of the playground. (Plus "chief junior supporter" Medinella Fauth 8 years)

Meanwhile, we’ve been busy…

All of the equipment is now ready and being packed into two containers to bring down to Timaru. The lighthouse is almost complete with just the mesh sides to be assembled. Then the Playground Centre is due to start work on constructing on the ship.
On 20th March, after all the major events have been held at the bay, fences will go up and the work will begin! 
All the current equipment within the main part of the playground will be removed so that the earthmovers can begin groundworks.
The metal slide will stay where it is, and we intend to re-install the rope pyramid, mouse wheel and the rocking horse depending on to how easily these items can be re-sited.
The paddling pool, courts and bike skills park will remain accessible through the project.

The top soil will be scraped off, and hard fill will be brought in and contoured to improve drainage, smooth transitions of surfaces for accessibility, and the required surface for mounds, foundations and safety surfaces. Paths will be set out, mounds will be constructed and then the equipment can start to go in.

Plans to improve the storm water drainage.

The playground site is one of the lowest areas at the bay. In heavy rains, the storm water from the surrounding streets can pop the caps of the drains that run underground. This is why we sometimes see storm water pooling over some of the area. 

To improve the drainage, TDC has designed swales and rain gardens to be incorporated into the landscaping. For larger events they plan to install a pump chamber underground near the paddling pool area.

Last design details are almost confirmed.

 The CPlay design team are currently waiting for the engineering to be signed off on the pataka design for the under 5s area. We are hoping that this can be built with donations and work in kind support from our community. 
We are looking at ways to mitigate vandalism and are considering painting the ship if we can source funding.
We are finalising the plan to share stories through art and information boards. 
There are a surfacing colours to confirm, planning trees, plants and seats and then we will have completed the major remaining design tasks.

We can't wait to see the fruits of everyone's hard work, voluntary time, and community support. How we play together really matters. And by late September/October hopefully we will all be able to celebrate the opening and make an important impact to our community.

"As chairperson of the project I would like to make a special mention of the CPlay team of volunteers who I am sure when they signed up for this project never dreamed it would be as all consuming as it has been.  When we stand shoulder to shoulder at the opening ceremony we can all be incredibly proud of the gift we have created for our community." – OJ (Owen Jackson) CPlay Chairperson

‍ABOVE: CPlay Volunteers met 26th January to recap, discuss and plan for the coming months.

ABOVE: Some of the members of the CPlay Design team, John Rushton, Graham Ward, Chris Fauth and Roselyn Fauth (taking the photo) discuss the design details in January 2023.

"There has been over three years of community consultation and design to make sure the playground is an exciting place to play, has lots of options and challenges for varying levels of ability and shares some our local stories. How we play matters. Investing in this playground is going to make an important impact in our community. CPlay has been a really special project to be part of and we can't wait to see it all come together to make an important impact in our community." - Roselyn Fauth – CPlay Volunteer

Above: EXCITING! Here is the lighthouse slide tower on it's side, at the end of December 2022, ready to have the mesh panels installed. - Photo supplied by The Playground Centre

Thank you for your continued support, we will be in touch with another update soon.