Report to COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & SERVICES Committee for

Transcription

1 Subject: Prepared by: Review and Maintenance Update Garrett Blair (Team Leader, Community Recreation Facilities) Meeting Date: 21 October 2015 Report to COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & SERVICES Committee for noting SUMMARY The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on the ongoing maintenance and review programme for playgrounds in the Gisborne District. s are currently inspected on a 2-weekly basis by Downers as part of the Council Reserves Maintenance Contract. These inspections highlight actions that need to be addressed immediately, such as broken playground infrastructure and are an important part of keeping our playgrounds maintained and safe. In October 2014, Council commissioned Future Landscapes to carry out a playground audit report. The report assessed playground infrastructure in terms of safety and highlighted some priority (high risk) compliance issues. These included: Risk of children being trapped or snared by playground equipment; Degraded playground equipment this was particularly evident in the wooden structures (forts and modules); Corrosion of metal playground parts e.g. (bolts, chains); and Concern around fall zones and playground surfaces. These are identified as urgent priorities for Council to address as they constitute a health and safety risk. It should be noted that these actions are not part of the scope of the Community Facilities Strategy, of which the Plan is part, but are priorities that need to be addressed now. The Plan is due to be developed later this year and will provide a strategic overview of playgrounds in the District and where these should be situated. RECOMMENDATION That the Committee 1. receives the report Garrett Blair Team Leader Community and Recreation Facilities Nedine Thatcher Swann Group Manager Planning and Development Keywords: playgrounds, audit report, maintenance of playgrounds, safety, wooden playground structures A Page 1 of 8

2 BACKGROUND 1. s play an important role in enhancing the Gisborne District and provide places for children to explore and play. Much of this infrastructure is ageing and in some cases in very poor condition. 2. s are currently inspected on a 2-weekly basis, by Downers as part of the Gisborne District Council (GDC) Reserves Maintenance Contract. These inspections highlight actions that need to be addressed immediately, such as broken playground equipment and are an important part of keeping our playgrounds maintained and safe. 3. In October 2014 the Council commissioned Future Landscapes to carry out a playground audit report for the Gisborne District. This report assessed the safety of the District s playgrounds against safety compliance standards, and highlighted those actions that needed to be undertaken to meet the standard. These actions are based on risk (low to high) and it is intended that these audits will occur annually, with the next audit to be completed in November KEY FINDINGS OF THE AUDIT REPORT 4. The report highlighted a range of compliance issues. These included: i. Entrapment - risk of children being trapped or snared by playground equipment; ii. iii. iv. Degraded playground equipment this was particularly evident in the wooden structures (forts and modules); Corrosion of metal playground parts e.g. (bolts); and Concern around fall zones and playground surfaces. Entrapment on playground equipment 5. All openings in play equipment should be designed so that a child s body (head, arms, legs, hands) does not get wedged or caught in or on the equipment from protrusions such as pipes, wood ends, or long bolts that can catch a child s clothing. This helps to prevent the risk of entrapment and strangulation. 6. It has been identified that entrapment is a particular issue for all wooden playground equipment in the Gisborne District. This is a risk at the following playgrounds: i. Adventure Park ; ii. Heath Johnstone Park; iii. Lytton West Reserve; iv. Makorori ; v. Martin Street ; vi. Nelson Road ; vii. Te Araroa Community ; viii. Martin Street ; ix. Titirangi Reserve; and x. Waihirere Reserve. Next steps: Council officers are addressing these matters under the current maintenance contract. Corrosion of playground equipment 7. equipment such as chains and bolts can corrode over time. This can be due to climatic conditions such as sea spray on playgrounds in coastal areas e.g. Adventure and Te Araroa Community. Corrosion is usually picked up as part of the reserves 2 weekly report but has also been picked up by the audit. This is a risk at the following playgrounds: A Page 2 of 8

3 i. Adventure ; and ii. Te Araroa Community ; Next steps: Council officers are addressing these matters under the current maintenance contract. Fall zones and playground surfaces 8. Fall zones and playground surfaces are an important part of playground design. The fall zone refers to the free area under which a child would drop onto a playground surface e.g. area under monkey bars. There should be no obstacles in this falling space. 9. The playground surface should be adequate so as not to cause injury to the child and should be comprised of material that takes into account fall zones, the type of playground equipment being used and provide adequate support upon impact. This differs between playground infrastructure for pre-schoolers and school aged children and in most cases is bark. This is a risk at the following playgrounds: i. Adventure Park ; ii. Heath Johnstone Park; iii. Titirangi Reserve; and iv. Waihirere Reserve. Next steps: Council officers are addressing these matters under the current maintenance contract. Degraded playground equipment 10. Degraded playground infrastructure has been raised as a matter of concern in the audit report. Currently, none of the wooden play equipment in the District meets the safety standard required for playgrounds in NZ. In order to meet the standard the wooden playground equipment would need to be removed (at the very least the high risk parts), and replaced. The recommended option is to: i. Remove the high risk parts of the play equipment e.g. tunnels; and ii. Schedule for the of the remaining structure when budget allows depending on costs for ; and iii. Replace the playground equipment subject to priorities developed through the Community Facilities Strategy plan. This impacts on the following playgrounds: Adventure Park ; Botanical Gardens; Heath Johnstone Park; Nelson Road ; and Titirangi Reserve. 11. Whilst removing the high risk areas such as tunnels provides an immediate answer to meeting safety standards, it does not address the full and replacement of the remaining playground infrastructure. 12. Complete of the playground would need to be undertaken under current budgets. If this is not possible an amendment to the Long Term Plan in the following financial year will need to be undertaken. The provision of open space and reserves is a Council function and as such it would not qualify for alternative funding sources. 13. Replacement of the playground infrastructure is a matter that will need to be considered as part of the Plan section of the proposed Community Facilities Strategy. This plan will assess where playgrounds should be provided across the District. Currently the requirement under the District Plan is to provide open space/reserves every 700m. A Page 3 of 8

4 14. This has been interpreted as providing a playground as well as a reserve which has led to issues meeting levels of service across the District. It is hoped that the Plan will help to rationalise this issue over future years. Action Plan Table 1 outlines the issues that the 2014 audit highlighted and the actions that GDC will undertake in order to remedy them. We have identified the following issues as being ones that we will fix as soon as possible due to their nature of being non-compliant but also posing a high risk. Consultants often discuss the point that whist equipment may not be compliant, it s really the risk the compliance issue has that determines what level of action is required. As you can see there is a lot of recommended s of equipment. These are generally play pieces or in some cases whole playgrounds that have many compliant issues and pose a high risk. A Page 4 of 8

5 Table 1: Issues and Proposed Action Plan Park Name Asset Description Category Risk Issues Future Landscapes /Downers Recommended Action GDC Proposed Action Adventure Park Wooden Fort with slide Compliance High Entrapment and degraded Fort is old - recommend Reduce gap then schedule for nearest pond timber structure. Adventure Park Wooden Fort nearest Compliance/ High Fall zones, entrapment and Fort is old - recommend Removal or replacement Stanley Road/Awapuni Maintenance degraded timber structure Road corner Adventure Park Module preschool Compliance High Entrapment/corrosion on Reduce gap, replace bridge Reduce gap, replace chain bridge chain and barriers chain and barriers and barriers while reducing pinch gaps in bridge Botanical Gardens G max Compliance High No certificate of compliance. Programme for replacement Remove Heath Johnston Park Wooden Fort Senior Compliance/ High Entrapment, fall height and Replace tunnel or complete Remove tunnel first then total Module Maintenance degraded timber structure. unit or replacement: (Total 7 defects listed) Lytton West Reserve Module small Compliance High Entrapment Reduce gap Reduce gap Makorori Module small Compliance Med/High Entrapment (2 defects) Reduce gap Reduce gap Martin Street Slide Compliance High Entrapment Reduce gap Reduce gap Nelson Road Fort Compliance High Entrapment and degraded Reduce gap Reduce gap then schedule for timber structure (3 defects) Te Araroa Community Module Maintenance High Bolts corroded, entrapment Replace bolts Reduce gap Replace bolts Reduce gap Titirangi Fort Compliance High Fall zone, entrapment Requires deck pad or consider removing fort Add bark then schedule for Tolaga Bay Swings Maintenance High Surface very low, just dust Top up bark to 300mm deep Add bark A Page 5 of 8

6 SIGNIFICANCE 15. The table below shows the Officer s assessment of the playground maintenance update report. Officers have rated the overall project of medium significance largely based on the level of community interest in progressing the required work. 16. However in terms of the recommended of all wooden playground structures, this is of high significance due to the high level of community interest. This part will be considered as part of the Community Facilities Strategy consultation later this year. Criteria The impact or effects on all or a large part of the Gisborne district. The impact or effects on individuals or specific communities. The level or history of public interest in the matter or issue. Consistency with Council s current strategy and policy. The impacts on Council s financial strategy, Long Term Plan and Annual Plan. Significance Med High Med Med Med COMMUNITY OUTCOMES 17. This activity contributes to the following community outcomes: Tairāwhiti Tangata our people; and Tairāwhiti Taonga our environment, culture and economy. s provide our district with areas that allow for leisure and recreational activity for all children in the Gisborne District. STRATEGIC CHALLENGES 18. Council s strategic priorities are: Resilience the ability to prepare for and bounce back from adversity; Prosperous Tairāwhiti fostering economic growth and community well-being; Environmental Stewardship caring for our natural resources; Mana Tairāwhiti enhancing and enjoying our unique region; and Inclusive decision-making involve and engage people in decision-making. 19. This activity contributes to a Prosperous Tairawhiti as playgrounds provide for community wellbeing. LEVELS OF SERVICE 20. Council provides a parks and open spaces network that protects landscape amenity values and biodiversity while promoting leisure and recreational opportunities that meet the needs of the District. 21. The levels of service in relation to this activity will not be met because the audit report has outlined that some of the playgrounds in the District do not meet NZ safety standards. This needs to be addressed by ongoing maintenance and through the Community Facilities Strategy A Page 6 of 8

7 FINANCIAL The work outlined in table 1 will come out of the existing operational reserves. We have quoted work that needs to be done and are comfortable with the amount. CONSULTATION 22. As mentioned earlier in the report, this work, in particular the of the wooden playground infrastructure has been assessed by Council officers as a significant decision in terms of the Significance Policy. 23. A Plan is currently being developed as part of the overall Community Facilities Strategy and is due to be completed in December The Plan will record the Council s strategic playground assets and decide where these should be provided for in the District. This process could include consideration of the future of the wooden playgrounds in particular where these make up the whole playground or a significant area. This would apply to the following playgrounds: i. Heath Johnstone Park; ii. Adventure Park; iii. Nelson Road ; and iv. Titirangi Reserve ; 24. It is proposed that the replacement option for playground infrastructure above be considered in the Plan consultation to be undertaken later in the year. APPENDIX APPENDIX 1: Photo collage of wooden infrastructure A Page 7 of 8

8 Appendix 1: Collage of Wooden Infrastructure Titirangi Reserve Nelson Road Reserve Botanical Gardens Heath Johnson Adventure Park A Page 8 of 8