City playground a reward for families

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the opening of the Margaret Mahy Family Playground today provides a central location for a summer of family fun in Canterbury.

“The playground has been under construction since April and is now ready for children of all ages,” Mr Brownlee says.

“There are plenty of activities for children and space for their parents to enjoy.

The playground features a four metre wide slide, double flying fox and a huge spider climbing net.  Over the course of the next few months more components will be added to the playground and its constant evolution will enable the excitement to continue.

“The point of a playground in the heart of the city is to provide a fantastic destination for families to come and enjoy,” Mr Brownlee says.

“With the East and North Frame residential development soon to begin next door, the Margaret Mahy Family Playground will be an extremely popular place for inner-city dwelling families.

“The idea to develop this area came out of the original ‘Share an Idea’ campaign, which the Christchurch City Council ran soon after the quakes.

“When we took on the task of rebuilding the city we agreed that a place to play and relax in the centre of the city would be of huge value to families.

“Today we can say we have achieved that goal and I’d like to thank the people of Christchurch whose ideas and suggestions led us here.

“Our new city will be modern and busy, and this central city playground will be a unique aspect of it,” Mr Brownlee says.