Community survey
We received 904 responses to this survey which gives us a better understanding of the community’s views on our play spaces. Most respondents think the DCC should invest in skateparks, equipment for children with disabilities, children of older ages, more challenging play and new play spaces such as destination playgrounds, pump tracks, parkour, BMX and a mountain bike skills area. Many respondents wanted a new play space in the central city.
They say spending on play equipment should be prioritised rather than things like seating, shade sails and water fountains.
Below is an overview of the results we collected.
Key findings
The majority of respondents (86%) want us to fund more equipment for children with disabilities.
| Do you think the Council should put more money into providing play equipment for children with disabilities | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 86 |
| No | 14 |
The majority of respondents (84%) said we should invest more in challenging play for children aged 10 to 14.
| Do you think the Council should put more money into challenging play for children aged 10 to 14. | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 84 |
| No | 16 |
Seventy seven percent of respondents say we should spend more money on play equipment for older kids (aged 14+) that also enables adults to play
| Do you think there should be more money spent on play equipment for older kids (aged 14+) and enable adults and older generations to play too | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 77 |
| No | 23 |
Seventy one percent of respondents want us to prioritise spending on playground equipment rather than facilities like shading, fencing, water fountains and rubbish bins.
| Do you think our priority focus should be on play equipment not other facilities like shade sails, and, water fountains which are also expensive and incur large operational costs. | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 71 |
| No | 29 |
Fifty seven percent of respondents say we should spend more money on skateparks and 132 respondents want opportunities to play with wheels, including skateparks (91), pump tracks (41) and basketball hoops (34).
| Do you think that there should be more money on skateparks | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 57 |
| No | 43 |
| More opportunities with wheels | |
| Skateparks | 91 |
| Pump tracks | 41 |
| Basketball hoops | 34 |
Of those who responded, the majority wanted investment in destination playgrounds or a combination of destination and local playgrounds
| Do you think that the Council's priority should be more investment in destination playspaces or more local playspaces | |
|---|---|
| Spread investment | 262 |
| Local playspaces | 74 |
| Destination playspaces | 260 |
Many (150) respondents commented that Christchurch’s Margaret Mahy is a playground to strive for. Marlow Park (Dinosaur Park) was a favourite destination play space mentioned by many respondents. Others commented they want playgrounds where children and adults can play and exercise together.
| What is your favourite playground | |
|---|---|
| Playgrounds outside Dunedin | 20 |
| Water park | 5 |
| Margaret Mahy | 16 |
| Local playground | 6 |
| Skateparks/bike tracks | 2 |
| Green Island | 6 |
| Botanic Garden | 1 |
| Mosgiel | 10 |
| Woodhaugh Garden | 1 |
| Dinosaur (Marlow Park) | 18 |
Active play is the favourite play type (20%), followed by free play (17%). Quiet play is ranked lowest (8%).
| Which of these types of play do you think Council should provide in our playspaces | |
|---|---|
| Acitve play | 20% |
| Social play | 14% |
| Imaginative/creative play | 13% |
| Exploratory play | 14% |
| Natural play | 14% |
| Quiet play | 8% |
| Free play | 17% |
Children’s survey - We talked to about 1,345 children during a separate survey for children. This included children from two kindergartens and ten primary schools. The survey targeted three age groups – under four years, five to nine, and 10 to 14.
Key findings
- The majority of children (67%) feel there isn’t enough play equipment for 10 to 14-year-olds. They ask for more age-appropriate play equipment, especially for adventurous play. Slides are their favourite equipment but they want them to be bigger, taller and themed with climbing nets and walls.
| What is your favourite equipment | |
|---|---|
| Bars | 38 |
| Basketball hoops | 9 |
| Bouncy equipment | 26 |
| Climbing | 61 |
| Flying fox | 23 |
| Fort | 10 |
| Hamster wheel | 25 |
| Misc | 7 |
| Nature play | 28 |
| Obstacle course | 2 |
| Open space | 10 |
| Roundabout | 13 |
| Sandpits | 10 |
| Seesaw | 2 |
| Shelters | 5 |
| Slide | 84 |
| Swing | 51 |
| Tunnel | 17 |
| Using wheels | 37 |
| Water play | 17 |
Favourite ways of playing for pre-school children are free play in nature and messy play, including water and sand.
| Kindergarten children's favourite ways to play | Rotary Kindergarten | Kaikorai Kindergarten |
|---|---|---|
| Imaginative play | 5 | 10 |
| Free play | 9 | 13 |
| Quiet play | 7 | 7 |
| Social play | 10 | 8 |
| Exploratory play | 5 | 12 |
| Natural play | 7 | 12 |
| Active play | 9 | 7 |
Primary school children like free and social play and being active, followed by being in exploratory and natural environments.
| What is your favourite way of playing - primary school | |
|---|---|
| acitve play | 14% |
| natural play | 13% |
| exploratory play | 13% |
| social play | 16% |
| quiet play | 12% |
| free play | 20% |
| imaginative/creative play | 12% |
Older primary school children want more age-appropriate playgrounds, more space and places to hang out. Free play is favoured by older children, including the use of wheels such as cycling and scootering. Skateboarding is also popular with some children asking for a skatepark tailored to their age group. Quiet play (or hanging out) is the next favoured activity by older children. Some ask for safe, sheltered and peaceful places to socialise.
| What is your favourite way of playing - older primary school | |
|---|---|
| being acitve | 13% |
| hanging out | 15% |
| using wheels | 13% |
| getting wet | 11% |
| being adventurous | 12% |
| feeling free | 15% |
| ball sports | 9% |
| technology | 12% |