More than a million dollars will be spent across the Queenstown Lakes District this year on playgrounds, QLDC parks director Paul Wilson said.

"Right now we are in the process of replacing equipment that either has not met safety standards or has come to the end of its life. We have $120,000 of new equipment going into playgrounds district wide," Mr Wilson said.

Included in the million dollar spend were four major park developments that included new playgrounds being:

• Scurr Heights $380,000
• Lake Hayes Estate $400,000
• Rose Douglas Park Arrowtown (upgrade) $50,000
• Arrowtown Camp Ground reserve $100,000

"The Lake Hayes playground covers a large area and we have been able to include provision of a bike trail with jumps and other features," Mr Wilson said.

The Scurr Heights playground at Wanaka, scheduled to get underway in the next few weeks, also covered a large area, allowing development of a sizeable green space.

The district-wide upgrade was good news for Makarora, which would benefit from some recycled equipment.

"We will have enough good quality recycled play equipment to establish Makarora?s first public playground," Mr Wilson said.

Playgrounds were highly valued in the community.

"We have been delighted with the response to the Dinosaur Park playground in Wanaka and are looking forward to setting a similar standard elsewhere in the district," Mr Wilson said.

ENDS

For further information please contact Paul Wilson 03 441 0499.

By: Sarah