It’s shining bright at Ngaaruawaahia’s Paterson Park, thanks to a new state-of-the-art lighting system.
The park now has a full set of competition grade glare-free LED lights from TechLight, as well as additional power outlets for the community to use at public events.
Council wanted to future-proof the park by doing a full renewal of the lighting infrastructure, rather than just replace the fixtures, says Project Manager, Asanka Meththa.
“We wanted to make sure it met the standard required for club competitions and that it serves future generations.”
Council worked closely with the community to make sure it met their needs, that all stakeholder views were considered and that everyone had a chance to have a say.
“This was a collaborative effort with the local Ngāruawāhia Community Board, Turangawaewae Rugby League Sports Club and Cultural Club, Ngaruawahia Rugby Sports Club, Ngaruawahia Rugby Sports Club - Juniors, Ngaruawahia High School Softball, and Ngaruawaahia Softball Men’s.”
After consulting with neighbouring residents, the physical work kicked off last October, and were completed in December.
To celebrate, a completion event was hosted by Waikato District Council in partnership with Turangawaewae Rugby League Sports Club and Cultural Club, on Wednesday, 24 January.
“It was great to see the new state-of-the-art technology come to life,” says Meththa.
Council would like to acknowledge the great work by our partners Elektron and TechLight, who restored any salvageable decommissioned lights, carried out drone videography to check the lighting conditions, and completed an electrical restructure for the grounds at no additional cost to help make this project successful.
The decommissioned lights were handed over to Marc Wymer, Chairperson of Turangawaewae Rugby League Sports Club and Cultural Club, Newcastle-Ngāruawāhia General Ward Councillor, Eugene Patterson and a representative from Turangawaewae marae, Tumate Mahuta.
Although the handover marks an official end to the project, it’s just the beginning for our community.
“This is an investment into the community and our rangitahi. We’re excited to see the new lighting infrastructure serve the community for years to come.”
