Beaches and walking tracks are within reach of Central Hawke's Bay residents living with disabilities, who now have access to a council and community-funded all-terrain wheelchair.
The CHB Disability Network aims to open up Central Hawke's Bay's public places and spaces to people living with a disability, which sparked the idea for this joint project.
Central Hawke's Bay District Council gathered information on all-terrain options from other councils, organisations and disability sector groups through a website survey.
This research confirmed the difficulties many people using wheelchairs have when visiting beaches due to the soft sand. Walking trails pose similar challenges due to their uneven terrain.
After many meetings and funding applications, the new Hippocampe All Terrain Wheelchair was unveiled at Centralines Sports Complex this week by deputy mayor Kelly Annand, representatives from the CHB Disability Network, funders, and staff.
The wheelchair can be used on the beach, trails, forest walks and parks. It is easily transportable, can go into the water and has interchangeable wheels for either beach or land use.
"It's awesome," said Steve Makoare of Waipawa, who attended the launch and was the first person to try out the new all-terrain wheelchair.
"I'll definitely use it."
Deputy mayor Kelly Annand, chair of the council's strategy and wellbeing committee, said "None of this happens in isolation. It's because people with ideas and passion get together and make things happen.
"Council's role is to advocate and facilitate community initiatives like this – we don't want to take over or tell people how to do things. Our aim is to enable, bring groups together, and support them in practical ways," Annand said.
"Any strategy is only as good as the actions that come out of it. It's times like this, when everything comes together, that you see all that work behind the scenes flow into the community."
Central Hawke's Bay District Council's Community Wellbeing Strategy provides a framework for working with community groups, including the Disability Reference Group, through which the council facilitates and advocates for initiatives for people living with disabilities in the district.
