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HDC claims this well loved slide is past it's used by date...clearly it is not. ( The flowers beneath the slide is related to our first story)
Swings still in great order and lots of fun
There are currently 2 toilet blocks at Eskdale Park. They are clean, freshly painted and in excellent repair. This is a credit to HDC for keeping the toilet blocks in such good order. Just because they are not modern toilet blocks does not mean they are not clean and well kept. In fact the toilet blocks are better than most toilet blocks in other parks we have visited.
Open space and building services manager Colin Hosford said the council was approached by the Hawke's Bay Mountain Bike Club a few months ago.
"You've got toilets that are sort of 60 plus years old, you've got play equipment that's 40 to 50 years old, you've got park furniture that is quite frankly is due for renewal and we put together a draft plan of some potential changes to the park as a starting point for consultation." As quoted per Colin Hosford to RNZ news article,
What Colin doesn't say is his draft plan removes the the play equipment above which is clearly still in good condition and the removal of these toilets that are definitely old however, still in great condition. They are tiled and painted. The proposal has just one play equipment area next to the river (smart huh) and both toilet blocks removed and replaced by one TWO PAN toilet block. Colin's draft plan pushes public use away from the proposed hub to allow expansion and not the good kind.
Also, why are the "proposed plan and changes" that Colin mentions not on the HDC website in full transparency to the public? HDC has asked for public feedback regarding Eskdale Park without providing the public with the proposed plan or the potential changes. Not very fair to ask people to give feedback without providing them with all the information.
Please click our Home page to view one of the "proposed plans" that was handed out by Colin on the public planting day in July 2020.
An radio New Zealand news article interviewed Colin Hosford Click here for article
Hosford insisted it was only a proposal.
To quote Colin
"Unfortunately a few members of the community have sort of run with the idea that it was a fait accompli and that's their words that they said on the day, this is a done deal. There's nothing further from the truth."
After a challenge question by Trina to Colin on the planting day to quote "when were you going to ask the locals about the proposal" Colin Hosford reply was heard by three people at the planting day "you will know when the diggers turn up" Colin created the panic, Colin needs to take responsibility.
Hawke's Bay Mountain Bike Club chairperson Scott Richardson said they needed a long term solution for mountain bikers as it was growing in popularity.
"We're looking to secure a mountain bike park that can be used for many years to come. With that we're going to need access to a block of land and the Eskdale Park is the bit of land we would ideally like to access to get into a forest area."
Richardson said they would only use a small part of the large park.
Contrary to the above Colin Hosford is quoted saying "It will be just like Rotorua!"
Contrary to the above Colin Hosford is quoted saying "It will be just like Rotorua!"
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