Work on Ashburton’s new terraced 18-hole mini golf course started this week.
Mayor Neil Brown turned the sod in a digger on Tuesday, with contractors setting up on site this week to begin the earthworks for the new Mid Canterbury-themed mini golf course being built in front of the sports stadium, EA Networks Centre.
Each hole represents a unique feature of the Ashburton District, including the Ashburton town clock, a combine harvester, braided rivers and Mt Hutt as hole 18 at the top of the course on the embankment.
Ashburton District Council people and facilities manager Sarah Mosley said Grant Hood Contracting was moving in this week to start excavating the site and begin construction of retaining walls.
“The work area has been fenced off and they’ll be creating three levels for the holes.
“The flat area in front of the carpark will be for holes one to 11, and the other holes will be on higher terraces, looking down towards EA Networks Centre.”
The project was expected to take around 14 weeks to complete.
The council had earmarked $400,000 for the project during its long-term plan deliberations but approved an increased $500,000 budget in December.
The project is being funded from the Reserves Contributions Reserve, so does not impact rates, but it will be in the future for maintenance costs.
Mosley said the design and build contract with play space specialists CREO was $400,000. The remaining $100,000 was for the civil contract works and signage.
“The major costs being the asphalt accessibility pathways and linkage ways up the terrace.
“Ongoing operational systems to enable online bookings and scoring are being investigated and, along with hire equipment, will be covered by operational budgets.”
The holes would be manufactured in Oamaru, where the contractor is based, and transported to Ashburton for installation, Mosley said.
Holes one to 11 are on the flat area and will be accessible for people pushing a pram, or those with limited mobility or in a wheelchair.
Hole 12, the Rakaia Bridge, leads up to the embankment to holes 13-18.
Carparking at the EA Networks Centre will remain largely unaffected during the works, and the steps from River Terrace will also remain open for pedestrians.
Once it’s built, the public can bring their ball and putter and play for free or rent them from the EA Networks Centre.
The mini golf course is going in next to the $30,000 sand court that opened earlier this year.
The sand court and mini golf projects are part of the 30-year masterplan for the EA Networks Centre site that was adopted by the council in December.
By Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
