Pop-up Park elements find new permanent home at Founders Heritage Park
Following the conclusion of the lease for the popular Pop-up Park on Halifax Street in early March, Nelson City Council is pleased to announce a new permanent home for the beloved play equipment and pump track at Founders Heritage Park.
After careful consideration of various alternative sites, Council decided that Founders is the ideal location for the play equipment, improving the recreational opportunities available to the community at the park.
The pump track will be relocated to a currently unused space adjacent to the iconic windmill. Comfortable seating options and vibrant planter boxes will be added to the area, creating an inviting space for preschool and primary school-aged riders and spectators.
Other popular play elements, including the container with blue blocks and the table tennis table, will be integrated into the existing playground near the Founders Café.
“The pop-up park was always a temporary option and played its role in establishing a demand for more play options in the city centre. We’re glad that we have been able to find a new home for the play equipment so it can be enjoyed by children for years to come.” Says Group Manager Environmental Management Mandy Bishop.
Nelson City Council appreciates the community’s patience and understanding during this transition. We look forward to seeing families and individuals enjoying the new and improved recreational facilities at Founders Heritage Park.
All of the play equipment will be available to the public from the 29th June 2025, during Founders' regular opening hours.”
Nelson City Council’s lease for the popular Riverside Youth Pop-Up Park on Halifax Street is coming to an end, following multiple lease extensions which are now no longer feasible. The lease arrangements require the Council to remove the park equipment and remediate the site by mid-March 2025.
Work to deconstruct the Pop-Up Park will begin in mid-February, with staff currently finalising arrangements with landowners and contractors. Council is also actively reviewing possible alternative sites within the city where the play equipment could be reactivated. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
The Pop-Up Park has been a success. As a tactical urbanism project, it has demonstrated the need for additional play activities in the city, which has helped build the case for the Rutherford Playspace currently under development.
The Riverside Youth Pop-Up Park is located next to Elma Turner Library on Halifax St.
The park is the result of a collaboration between Nelson City Council and Wakatū Incorporation, which owns the space.
The idea for the park stemmed from the results of Council’s Public Life Survey, which showed of all the measured activities taking place in the city centre, less than two percent included children playing.
The park features a pump track for skaters, bicycles and scooters, a solar-lit basketball court, and an imagination playground for younger children.
The imagination playground is made up of 105 large blue foam building blocks which children can use to make their own play structures, as featured on Netflix’s Abstract series.
There are also be table tennis, planters, picnic tables, youth hammocks and colourful seating. A customised container provides shade and secure storage overnight for the games and equipment. Shade sails have also been installed.
Council is also investigating opening up a new door in the wall of the children’s section of Elma Turner Library that would lead directly into the park.
The park will remain in the Halifax St location for at least two years.
This project is now complete: https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/nelson-top-stories/122750820/creative-and-colourful-popup-park-gets-the-thumbs-up-from-nelson-children
Recent updates to the Youth Pop up Park
Minor upgrades at the Riverside Youth Pop Up Park were completed in June 2024.
The minor refresh of the park includes additional play features for the smaller children’s area including a set of interactive game panels and a painted blackboard on the storage container. Relocating some of the seating and fencing to allow for a more flexible space and direct access to the children’s library.
Additionally, the edge closest to busy Halifax Street is anchored with a colourful bollards, seats and greenery in planters, creating a visual barrier and slowing movement of young participants out towards the street.
Other upgrades include:
- Adding solar powered catenary lighting to the three shade structures
- Refreshing the planting in the existing planter boxes
- Repair to the damaged area of the basketball court
- A new welcoming sign adjacent Halifax Street and re-installation of an artwork from the previous Riverside Murals Walk within the Pop Up Park
- Relocating the refurbished hammock chairs from Upper Trafalgar Street to the pop-up park (new replacement hammock chairs with a civic aesthetic are planned for Upper Trafalgar Street, with relocation occurring after new ones are installed)
