Whanganui's Bason Botanic Gardens attracted record visitor numbers during summer.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui's Bason Botanic Gardens attracted record visitor numbers during summer.
Photo / Bevan Conley
A new sand dune has appeared at Castlecliff over summer and will be sown with native plants during the next season.
Whanganui District Council senior parks manager Wendy Bainbridge said the dune has been established from a build-up of sand blown from the beach on to roads in thearea.
"It was done in conjunction with Downers as part of the beach clean-up for summer and it is a bit of a trial.
"If it works well we can look at doing the same with other blow-outs along the beach."
In a report to the council's property and community services committee meeting on Tuesday, Bainbridge said "blow-outs" during spring and early summer had caused the build-up.
"There will also be space behind the dune to allow for filling with sand from the main beach area."
Windblown sand has been cleared from roads and fashioned into a new dune at Castlecliff Beach.
Photo / Bevan Conley
The parks and reserves report also included an update on cemetery maintenance.
Bainbridge said there have been several complaints about maintenance of the cemeteries since a new contractor was employed and it is understood the public has high expectations for the standard of work.
"Officers have been working with the contractors to try to ensure the required specifications are met.
"It should be noted that it has been a difficult growing season for all contractors to manage, with an extended growing season where lawns and edges have not slowed in growth."
There have been 102 reports of graffiti in Whanganui since July last year and Bainbridge said there were several "quite public graffiti incidences" in January this year.
Councillor Rob Vinsen asked about incidences of littering and whether there had been many since the last committee meeting in November.
"I'm a bit surprised that there is nothing about litter in the report," he said.
"What's happening with litter - is it getting worse and what is it costing the ratepayers?"
Bainbridge said she was not aware of recent increases.
"It has certainly become worse over the last 12 to 18 months but I'm not aware that it has been worse recently," she said.
"I can track how much has been taken to the refuse station and include it in these reports."
Vinsen said there was much public discussion about rubbish dumping and wondered if it were possible to confirm whether there was data to back it up.
Bainbridge said she was pleased to report record visitor numbers to Whanganui reserves in December.
"The Winter Gardens and the Bason had especially high numbers," she said.
More than 10,000 people visited the Winter Gardens and there were more than 18,000 visitors to the Bason Botanic Gardens for the month.
Bainbridge also reported that as of February 1 more than 34,000 people had crossed the new Upokongaro Cycle Bridge since it opened on December 2.
Work has commenced on the Durie Hill Elevator entranceway upgrade and "a generous donation" has been received towards improvements to the Durie Hill viewing area.
"An upgrade of the area is overdue and draft plans are under way. Once completed discussion with stakeholders and more communication on what is planned will be undertaken."
Other projects include replacement of rotten boards and painting of the Royal Wanganui Opera House walls due to begin next month, an extension of the Lake Wiritoa carpark, and planning is under way to build a small retaining wall at the rear of the Repertory Theatre.
The roof of the new dog pound in Airport Rd is to be replaced after it was damaged by strong easterly winds in December.
"The roof, which is under warranty, is to be replaced in the coming weeks with a modified venting system, to further mitigate the risk of future damage from extreme weather events."
Bainbridge said she was awaiting the results of a park check survey at selected parks and reserves.
The survey, to be completed by March, will provide useful benchmarks against other participating councils.
