Work on the new Caroline Bay playground is set to begin next month, with the goal of completion in September/ October.
The budget for the playground has risen to $3.1 million and fundraising is under way to meet a $150,000 shortfall.
CPlay chairman Owen Jackson said this week that on March 20, after all the major events had been held at Caroline Bay, fences would go up and work would begin.
Current equipment within the main part of the playground would be removed so earthmovers could begin groundworks, Mr Jackson said.

‘‘The metal slide will stay where it is, and we intend to reinstall the rope pyramid, mouse wheel and horse depending on to how easily it can be re-sited.’’

The playground equipment was being packed into two containers to bring south to Timaru, he said.

The bespoke lighthouse was almost complete with just the mesh sides to be assembled, then The Playground Centre was due to start construction work on the ship.

‘‘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.’’

Rooney Earthmoving Ltd would be the project’s earthmoving contractor, and play surface specialist Numat would supply and install the play surfacing, Mr Jackson said.

‘‘These were the last two major pieces of the project to confirm, and have enabled CPlay project manager Graham Ward to lock in most of the overall costs.

‘‘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.’’

A little fundraising was still to be done, but Mr Jackson believed a solid plan had been put 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.’’

The committee has received an additional $300,000 contribution from the Timaru District Council, reflecting the high quality of surfacing specified, leaving $150,000 to raise in order to match scope with budget, Mr Jackson said.

‘‘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.

‘‘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.’’

Watching people give money, time, energy and enthusiasm for the project was a ‘‘humbling’’ experience, he said.

‘‘We are a small community with an extremely generous heart.’’

Last push . . . CPlay volunteers meet late last month to recap, discuss and plan for the coming months. PHOTO: SUPPLIED