Big plans for neglected Tangonge Domain

Signs decorating the fence at last week's whanau day will remain on display in Bonnetts Road, as the first step towards making it safer for children. Photo/Supplied

For years the Tangonge Domain, at the end of the seal on Bonnetts Road, Kaitaia, has sat forlorn and forgotten.

Once home to a local soccer club, and officially a dog-walking area, it has rarely been used for any activity at all for some years, and now supports a flourishing crop of carrot weed.

That's all about to change though. The Far North District Council is leasing the domain to Open the Curtains, which hosted a whanau day there last week.

OTC has big plans, aimed at making the area a recreational and social hub, including a bike track, a flying fox, shade areas, an orchard, a place that west Kaitaia families can share and where children can play without risking life and limb in the street.

Many of those turned up on Friday, adults and children alike, had ideas of their own, some of which might be more achievable than others.

The suggestions included a water slide, a computer room, a gymnasium, a pool and hill, a slide, swings, a fountain, a bungy jump, a mud run and a baby playground.

Meanwhile, the signs that decorated the fence last week, most of them urging drivers to slow down in a narrow street that is home to many children, will remain on display as the first step towards making Bonnetts Road safer for youngsters who really don't have anywhere else to play.