New playground projects in Bega Valley, NSW, that include Cobargo’s Apex Park and Tathra Lions Park at Mogareeka are now completed with Bicentennial Park in Bemboka and the Wyndham Memorial Park underway.
At Mogareeka Inlet near Tathra, following community consultation, the Tathra Lions Park was the preferred site for upgrading with a renewal of the play equipment and an accessible path linking the parking area to the playground equipment and picnic area. A new pirate ship has been constructed at this site replacing one which was destroyed by a storm event in 2016.
The four new all-inclusive playgrounds were developed with funding from the State Government Stronger Country Community Fund (SCCF) and local council co-contribution.
“These are relatively small townships, so we are working with lower budget projects than you would expect in a larger centre, but we consult with our Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee and adopt ‘everyone can play’ principles where possible,” project manager Glenn Merrick told F2L. “The high cost of non-toxic and eco-friendly soft fall rubber prevents us making all components within the playgrounds accessible but we could potentially retrofit extra pieces at a later date.”
The playgrounds feature a range of accessible aspects including parking areas, picnic tables, bubblers, barbeques, play equipment and bench seating.