Maclean Park upgrade

Our vision for Maclean Park is a destination for all; a place to meet, play, relax and connect with Kāpiti Island, our heritage and environment.

Maclean Park is a located in a 3-hectare reserve between Marine Parade and the coastal foredune at Paraparumu Beach. It’s an intergenerational destination park that is a point of pride for our district.

Next steps

Between June 2022 and the end of 2023, we’re investing $2.3 million on the next stage of the Maclean Park development plan[PDF 1.08 MB]. We’ll:

• upgrade the toilets to provide modern accessible facilities, including more toilets and new showers
• improve the skate park in consultation with our community
• prepare the ground for future upgrades, including an older persons’ area and water plaza.

Our vision for the upgraded skatepark is that it caters for riders of all skill levels, with some separation of learners and expert users. It should include some sunshade and shelters. It will occupy almost the same footprint as the existing skatepark.

Creating a new park entrance will require some of the Norfolk Island pine trees near Marine Parade and the Phoenix Palms to be removed. The nearby pohutukawa trees will be retained and incorporated into the landscape plan.

Design of the new amenity block is yet to be finalised but it will be fully accessible and include new toilets and showers.

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Skatepark

The initial Maclean Park skatepark user consultation closed in August 2022. We received lots of very valuable ideas via our online survey, pop-up day at Maclean Park and our workshop with key user groups.

Due to the available space and funding, we won’t be able to include all the ideas we received this time. All ideas will, however, be considered for other skatepark upgrades across Kāpiti.

We received 184 responses to our online survey. Key findings from the summary report include:

• The most preferred features for the skatepark upgrade were a flow bowl, a smaller bowl, and plaza-style street area
• Catering for all skill levels and disciplines, as well as having the skatepark lit for use at night were ranked as the most important factors for the skatepark
• The pyramid and rail, and the large bank and quarter pipe at the northern entrance were ranked as the most preferred existing features to retain
• Lighting was ranked as the most important non-skating feature, closely followed by seating and shade
• Staying active and healthy, as well as having a space to hang out with friends were the main reasons respondents reported for using the skatepark
• Respondents reported the main benefits of upgrading the skatepark would be improving people’s overall experience at Maclean Park, attracting new and more frequent users, and growing users’ skills and confidence.

People also told us they have concerns about safety and some requested security cameras at the park. We will continue talking with park users and the wider community about safety issues and investigate possible solutions in parallel with the skatepark upgrade.

Our skatepark design experts are considering all the feedback and, along with best-practice trends are using it to draft a concept plan. We’ll engage with our community again on the concept plan later this year before finalising the plan in early 2023.

We expect construction of the skatepark upgrade to begin in mid-2023 and be completed by the end of the year.

Indicative timeline

August–October 2022 - concept design

November–December 2022: community engagement on concept design

February–June 2023: detailed design

July–December 2023: construction

December 2023: refreshed skatepark opens

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Future stages

Further planned additions to Maclean Park include:

• creating an older persons' recreation area to provide opportunities for senior members of the community to meet up, improve fitness, and to support intergenerational families who visit the park together. We’ll engage our community to confirm details of the area closer to its design stage
• installing an all-seasons water play plaza, a water feature providing interactive water-based play opportunities which would operate all year round (a splashpad doesn't operate through the winter months).

The development plan:

• provides for safer water play through the introduction of the all-seasons water plaza
• uses water to enhance the aesthetic experience of the park, including constructed and natural features
• contributes to improved knowledge, water quality and natural values of the Tikotu Stream and the restoration of its estuary
• improves land to sea and sea to land linkages.

At the southern end, we'd like to better connect the park to the shops and make it work better for events, markets and other uses.

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Iwi partners

The Maclean Park Management Plan was prepared in partnership with Te Āti Awa as mana whenua and the site is also recognised as site of significance by Ngāti Toa. Through a series of information sessions, meetings and onsite workshops we developed a plan that expresses the values of both our iwi partners as well as the wider community.

Maclean Park is located in an area of great historical significance to the people of Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The wider area was originally occupied by the settlement know as Te Uruhi Pā, which was located in the vicinity of Te Uruhi Lake and the Tikotu Stream which flowed from the lake out to sea.

The Maclean Park Management Plan was prepared in partnership with Te Āti Awa as mana whenua and the site is also recognised as site of significance by Ngāti Toa. Through a series of information sessions, meetings and onsite workshops we developed a plan that expresses the values of both our iwi partners as well as the wider community.

Maclean Park is located in an area of great historical significance to the people of Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The wider area was originally occupied by the settlement know as Te Uruhi Pā, which was located in the vicinity of Te Uruhi Lake and the Tikotu Stream which flowed from the lake out to sea.

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