Submissions

To: Christchurch City Council
Date: May 2025

Purpose

This submission’s primary purpose is to support the proposed upgrades while providing specific recommendations to enhance accessibility from a disability perspective. DPA aims to ensure that the development results in a recreation ground and foreshore that are truly inclusive and user-friendly for all, including disabled children and adults, by addressing design elements like toilets, play areas, seating, pathways, and parking.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Christchurch City Council’s (CCC) Pūrau Recreation Ground and Foreshore development plan, expressing general support for the proposed upgrades. In terms of the Recreation Ground, DPA is pleased that CCC plans to include an accessible picnic table, which will benefit wheelchair and mobility aid users.

However, DPA offers several recommendations to further improve accessibility. Firstly, DPA explicitly states that the new toilet block must be fully accessible for disabled people to use. Secondly, DPA advises against using wood chip surfacing in play areas, as it makes them inaccessible for many disabled children, advocating instead for accessible and safer alternative surfaces. Thirdly, they request that at least some play equipment be made inclusive and accessible for all children, including those with disabilities. Fourth to restrict vehicle access to the kāinga site. DPA recommends that when existing picnic tables are relocated, one is replaced with an accessible one. Crucially, DPA recommends using compacted gravel, rather than ordinary gravel, in both the western and eastern foreshore carparks. This is because ordinary gravel is largely impassable for wheelchair users, while compacted gravel would significantly improve ease of traversal for wheelchair and mobility aid users.

Key Recommendation/Finding:

DPA asks that the new toilet block is an accessible one that disabled people can access and use. This is essential.

Supporting Statement 1:

Accessible toilet facilities are a fundamental requirement for disabled people, particularly those who rely on whānau, caregivers, or support people, enabling their full participation in public spaces.

Supporting Statement 2:

The ability to access and utilize essential facilities like toilet blocks is crucial for ensuring that public recreational grounds are genuinely inclusive and user-friendly for all members of the community, including those with diverse disabilities.