New basketball court about to be built in Flaxmere

The hoop in William Nelson Park in Hastings is well used and now it's Flaxmere's turn to get more hoops. Photo / Supplied

A new basketball court is about to be built in Flaxmere as part of a pilot programme giving the community more places to shoot hoops.

The first court will be laid in Ron Giorgi III Park in May, while planning is under way for another in Flaxmere Park.

The Hoops in Parks pilot is a first for New Zealand, developed from Basketball New Zealand's national Hoops in Schools programme.

Hastings District Council teamed up with Basketball New Zealand, Basketball Hawke's Bay and Sport Hawke's Bay to make the sport more accessible to the community.

Hastings District councillor Henare O'Keefe said when the new courts are complete, most of Flaxmere will be a 10-minute walk from a new full-sized basketball court.

A walking map of the basketball courts. Photo / Supplied

With new courts already laid in Kirkpatrick Park and William Nelson Park in Hastings, and the need for more sports facilities highlighted in the Flaxmere and Flaxmere West community plans, it was decided Flaxmere would be a good place to start putting in more courts.

To help decide where they should go, the Flaxmere community was asked last year which parks would be good locations.

A number of parks in Flaxmere West were identified, of which Ron Giorgi III has been selected.

The court and existing playground will not be lit to discourage night-time use.

It had also been intended to build a new court in Len Harlen Park, but since the consultation, nearby Kimi Ora Community School has started building a full-size court that will be available to the wider community.

The Len Harlen Park court will still get attention through the Hoops in Parks programme, however, undergoing resurfacing and line-marking.

Kimi Ora principal Matt O'Dowda said the school would have both a half-court and a full-court by the end of March.

"The half-court we already have gets hammered every day at school and after school. The courts are open to all of the community and it is awesome to see it all being used."

O'Keefe said playing basketball was already a popular activity for local kids and with one court at each end of Flaxmere and one in the middle, nearly everyone would have one not too far from their home.