The Waipuna Park playground is getting a facelift with the addition of a new accessible footpath, swing set, BBQ, water fountain, accessible picnic tables and a 3x3 basketball court.

The improvements get under way from Monday September 5 and are estimated to be completed by November 2022.

The footpath will create better connection between the playground and the rest of the park, and to Kaitemako Road.

After the Waipuna Park work is completed, Tauranga City Council will deliver other short term parks improvements across Welcome Bay.

Earlier this year, council asked the Welcome Bay community what sort of improvements it would like to see in its parks and reserves.

The provision of shade (including shade trees), seats, picnic tables, signage, and pathways came out on top in the community feedback, as well as more play equipment.

'These are all things that we can get to work on right now, starting with Waipuna Park as part of Council's short term parks improvements projects in Welcome Bay,” says Tauranga City Council community amenity programme delivery manager Amanda Davies.

'We were really pleased with the Welcome Bay community's response to our engagement, with 187 people filling out our survey, 50 people sending an email and another 60 people leaving a comment on our Facebook page.”

As well as these short term parks projects, Council is about to start planting a number of trees in the parks across Welcome Bay and is refining the longer term parks projects for this community.

'For these longer term projects, we'll work closely with key stakeholders and the wider Welcome Bay community to design and deliver the improvements that the community has identified as important to them,” says Amanda.

'Longer term projects include larger scale improvements such as new playgrounds and will require detailed design and further community engagement.”

For more information about the Welcome Bay parks improvements project visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/welcomebayparks