The redevelopment of Havelock North Village Green has earned one of 20 national awards, bestowed by New Zealand Recreation Association (NZRA).
At an awards ceremony in New Plymouth last week, the project received one of two merit awards in the 'Outstanding Project' category, with an Auckland project taking out the top spot.
Hastings District Council parks and properties manager Colin Hosford attended the awards and said the judges particularly recognised the extensive consultation used to come up with the design for the playground and park; and the role of the local community and partnerships in contributing to the Village Green's final success.
The elements in the playground also attracted favourable comment, said NZRA national project manager Deb Hurdle.
"The judges were impressed by some of the innovative design features and particularly liked the interactive water feature that allows people of all ages and abilities to engineer how the water meanders through the playground from five different stations and through nine different weirs," she said.