Recreation hub for Te Awamutu

Work is now complete on the new recreation hub for the Te Awamutu community, which was officially opened on Friday 23 February 2018.

Official opening party

The Pop n' Good Bike Park and upgraded Pioneer Park playground was officially opened with a community party attended by hundreds of excited locals - and their bikes! A blessing of the site was performed by local iwi and a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Mayor Jim Mylchreest, and Te Awamutu business owners Paul and Donna Davies, who contributed the entire cost of the bike park's construction.

This was followed by live music, food trucks, free bike safety checks, free face painting and of course, Pop n' Good Popcorn. Waipa District Council also gave away a BMX biker to one of the lucky entrants of our colouring competition.

Check out the full album of photos on our Facebook page.

Update - 9 February 2018

The concrete is down, the hills and curves are in place and it's nearly time for the first young riders to hit the track at Te Awamutu's new Pop n' Good Bike Park.

The Pop n' Good Bike Park and Pioneer Park Playground will officially open on Friday 23 February and we are having a party!

The event will kick off with an official blessing and ribbon cutting. From there it is straight into the fun with live music, food trucks, bike safety checks, face painting and of course, Pop n' Good Popcorn.

Bring your bikes and a picnic and come and join in the fun! Check out the event details on Facebook.

Update - 22 December 2017

The Pop 'n' Good bike park is taking shape - there is still a bit of work to do until it is ready to be used! The park is a construction site and will be fenced off over the Christmas break, please stay off the site for your own safety.

The playground near Pioneer Park is open to use until Monday 8 January. From then on it will be closed while we complete all the upgrades to make it even better!

In the meantime - we suggest you use some of the other awesome playgrounds in Te Awamutu that are just a few minutes walk.

Check them out here:

Update - 13 December 2017

Construction of the new playground and bike park is well underway! The balance and slide area is almost complete and concrete was laid for the bike skills track this week.

Delays have meant the new facility will not be open by Christmas as initially hoped. The playground and bike park are scheduled to open in late-February and plans are underway for a community opening party when construction is complete.

The existing playground will remain open over Christmas and new year for the community to enjoy. The playground will close on Monday 8 January so contractors can complete the upgrades to the playground, including new equipment, a water play area and under-5 play area. It will remain closed until construction is complete.

Check out the progress so far:

Update - November 2017

A generous sponsorship deal with Te Awamutu-based company, Davies Foods, has been announced and will fund the entire cost of the bike skills park. Once complete the facility will be known as the Pop 'n' Good bike park.

With the sponsorship deal now in place, construction on the bike skills park and playground will begin almost immediately. Civil Construction Services has been contracted to do the work.

The existing playground at Selwyn Park will remain open for now, but it will be closed to the public for a period while construction is underway. Closure dates will be advised.

Donna and Paul Davies from Davies Foods join Te Awamutu sisters Ruby Wrathall (5) and Olivia Wrathall (8) at the site of the Pop 'n' Good bike park. A sponsorship deal from the company means construction of the park will begin almost immediately.

Update - September 2017

We have now finalised plans for the Te Awamutu playground and bike skills park. Construction is scheduled to begin next month.

After releasing the initial plans, concerns were expressed about the effect the bike skills park would have on the rose gardens. We took this in to account and adjusted the final plans so they will:

Maintain most of the semi-circular shape of the gardens.
Keep three more rose beds as they are.
Increase the overall rose bed area by nine square meters.

We are also working with the Te Awamutu Rose Trust to create brand new rose beds around town in Anzac Green, Victoria Park and next to the museum. Keep an eye out for the new roses.

Plans, September 2017:

Artist's impression of play area, September 2017:

Update - August 2017

This new destination playground is something we are really looking forward to. The play space will be built near Selwyn Park and along the Mangaohoi Stream, and we hope it will become a central place the community can enjoy together. Initial plans were released for consultation in August 2016 which resulted in encouraging feedback from the public.

Council will be doing a lot of work over the coming months to transform the space in to a grass terraced area with seating and picnic areas. The current playground will be getting a refresh and there will be lots of new features too.

Some features of the new play space will include:

a water play area
a slide area
new playground equipment
a new fenced under-5 play area
a bike skills area (detailed plans for this aspect are still being finalised).

Plans, August 2017: