Seaside hot pools for Christchurch

While opening day is postponed during the national state of emergency due to COVID-19, a new seaside facility in Christchurch will provide lots of relaxing and soothing fun for bathers once things are back to normal.

The long-held vision of a hot pools complex as the catalyst for regeneration of the seaside village of New Brighton, Christchurch, has become a reality.

Citycare landscapes team played a crucial role in providing public access to the new complex, which is called He Puna Taimoana.

The team built boardwalks, sand dunes and sand ladders to make it easy for people to get from the beach to the hot pools and vice versa.

The Christchurch City Council’s development agency Development Christchurch Ltd (DCL) has designed and built He Puna Taimoana as part a $19.2-million council commitment to regenerate New Brighton by attracting life and activity and boosting local businesses.

“The Citycare team did a really good job and it took some good skills from the carpenters to work out difficult angles for the boardwalk,” DCL project manager Paul Haggath said.

“Foreman Roger Tyson and his team were thinking on their feet to make things fit with key construction located under the boardwalk and inconspicuous for pedestrians,” said Citycare Landscapes Contract Manager Brent Cations.

The boardwalk is built on timber piles and high fenced on the landward side, designed to deflect the prevailing cool easterly wind and protect bathers as they enjoy the pools.

Of note are the eco-sourced plants used for the sand dunes. The seeds or cuttings were propagated from local native stands of vegetation and replanted back in the same ecological area where they originated, meaning the plants are suited to local conditions and more likely to survive.

The boardwalk at the hot pools blends into the continuous walkway for pedestrian access to the seafront at New Brighton.

New sand ladders, constructed from wood linked by metal chains, provide access to the beach while protecting pedestrians from sinking into the sand as they make their way safely up and down from the boardwalk.

He Puna Taimoana will become a great attraction when it opens to the public.

He Puna Taimoana hot pools look onto the sea at New Brighton. Photo credit: Christchurch City Council Newsline