Play your part at Puketāpapa parks

In Puketāpapa there are a number of outstanding parks for the community to enjoy, and the local board is reminding park users to take care of these spaces so that everyone can enjoy them.

Auckland's central-west local board area Puketāpapa is home to 76 local recreational and sports parks dotted throughout the suburbs of Hillsborough, Lynfield, Mount Roskill, Three Kings, Waikōwhai and Wesley.

Puketāpapa's network of parks offer highly sought after opportunities for competitive and recreational sports, exercise, activities, relaxation and play. It's a varied network of large parks with sporting facilities, coastal and ecological areas and smaller neighbourhood parks, many of which are connected by shared walking and cycling pathways.

Puketāpapa Local Board Chair, Ella Kumar is proud of these jewels across the area.

"We absolutely cherish our open spaces but with lots of anticipated growth coming into Puketāpapa, green spaces are in high demand. Our multi-use facilities provide for both people and nature - from accommodating local biodiversity, housing stormwater management, improving air quality, hosting events to facilitating leisure and recreation," says Chair Kumar.

"And as we welcome newcomers into our community, we want to ensure that our parks remain valued destinations in Puketāpapa," she says.

"So, it's important that everyone is respectful of our public spaces and take pride in our local area by doing their part, such as following the dog-walking rules and picking up after ourselves to help look after these facilities.

"Our plan is to continually look for ways to improve our places and the wellbeing of our people, so they have great opportunities for activity and connection."

Five favourites

Formerly host to the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 New Zealand team, Keith Hay Park is one of Auckland's largest and most used parks. Facilities are abundant with 17 football fields, cricket nets, basketball court, ample space for play, picnic tables, drinking fountains, paths and two playgrounds and recently installed shade sails. It also caters for swimming and fitness with a pool and leisure centre, gymnastics and temporarily, it even has tunnel boring machines - however they're not for public use.

Margaret Griffen Park is a popular local facility with sports fields, basketball court, scenic walking path and a recently upgraded children's playground. Within the same vicinity is the Lynfield Leisure Centre which offers a gym, squash courts, and a range of classes for all ages and abilities.

A visit to Monte Cecilia Park will transport you to an outdoor scene reminiscent of an old English countryside estate. Perched at the top of the hill is the Pah Homestead which houses an art gallery, café and a venue for events with spectacular views of Manukau Harbour, One Tree Hill and Waitākere Ranges.

Mount Roskill War Memorial Park has five sports fields for American football and rugby, athletics track and field, playgrounds, fitness equipment, a skate park, basketball courts, paths for walking and cycling and the memorial hall offers a venue for indoor activities and events. It also hosts Puketāpapa's signature annual events, such as CultureFest and Anzac Day service and parade.

Nestled in at the heart of Three Kings, Three Kings Reserve offers lush green fields for sports and recreation, tennis and basketball courts, with plenty going on being surrounded by many other well-used facilities including Mount Roskill Library and Fickling Convention Centre and nearby fitness centre, shops and medical centre.

All five parks have parking, picnic tables, seating, and accessibility maps can be found here.

Play your part

In addition to regular maintenance, respect and care for these public facilities is required to ensure they continue to be loved and shared by all.

While each of the parks listed above provide adequate public rubbish bins that are monitored and regularly emptied, they are not for household waste, nor do they serve any purpose for rubbish left beside them. Park visitors are also welcome to take their rubbish home with them. To protect parks from illegal dumping, anonymous reporting can be submitted here.

Our best friends can also play a part to make everyone's park experience a comfortable and enjoyable one. For each park, there are different dog-walking rules in different areas of the parks. You can look up parks and their rules here.

Let's not forget favourite facilities that are well-used aren't always perfect. If something isn't working, you can help by letting Auckland Council - simply report a problem here.

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