Published: 30 Apr 2021

Timaru District Council’s investment in a new climbing structure is offering a fresh play challenge at Lough Park.

The Eagle’s Nest, which is now open, is a six metre high climbing structure offering kids a new way to play at the popular suburban park. As well as climbing ropes, it has several small baskets that serve as hang out zones or resting points.

Lough Park Playground, which is on Lough Street between Avenue Rd and Wilson St is one of 43 playgrounds in our district.

Parks and Recreation Manager Bill Steans said that as well as the focus on new destination playgrounds, it was important that council kept investing in suburban parks.

“Over the past few years we’ve been undertaking a stock take of all the equipment we have in the district parks and its condition,” he said.

“Having all this information now enables us to create a ten year plan to ensure that our current playground budget is spent fairly throughout the district.”

While the focus has been on fun and physical development, the project also took into account the privacy needs of local residents.

“One thing that we considered with the Eagles Nest was the height of the structure. There are several residential properties near Lough Park and their privacy should not be impacted, despite the height of the structure,” said Bill.

“Lough Park is in the middle of a gully which means that the top of the Eagles nest is still below the surrounding houses.”

The cost of the project, including groundworks and installation of the equipment and specialised sub-surface was $88,000.

“Our aim is to provide playgrounds for everybody, and the Eagle’s Nest is targeted at that older age group who are looking for more of a challenge,” said Bill.

Last updated: 30 Apr 2021