Kiama Mayor Neil Reilly has urged contractors to bid for the chance to create a unique new playspace in Hindmarsh Park after Council has for a second time received no tenders for its multi-million dollar upgrade of the park.
“Hindmarsh Park is in a blue-ribbon location right in the heart of Kiama and whoever takes on this project will be creating a legacy they can point to with pride for many years to come,” Cr Reilly said.
Council’s Director of Engineering Mike Dowd expressed disappointment at the lack of tenders so far and said the feedback had been that construction firms are booked solid, the distance from Sydney was an issue (1.7 hours by road), the design is unique and challenging, and the Christmas break had resulted in less interest.
He also pointed out that the building and construction industry, like many across the board, is suffering from labour shortages, interest rate rises, significant delays and supply chain issues.
Mr Dowd expressed hope that the uniqueness of the Hindmarsh build and the opportunity to create something bespoke would inspire rather than deter potential firms from putting in a tender.
“We’ve worked with the community and our landscape designers Civille to create a concept design for Hindmarsh Park that is distinctive and draws on the history of Kiama – you won’t see a park like this elsewhere,” Cr Reilly said.
The playspace design is inspired by the indigenous and cultural heritage of Kiama including its natural environment, the harbour and maritime heritage, history of dairy farming and basalt mining.
It’s accessible, it’s sustainable (less plastic, more natural materials) and it’s bespoke.
Mr Dowd said: “In December, we revised the works documents to make the job more manageable by breaking it down into several separate packages of work.”
“We’re now doing further revisions, to better quantify requirements and allow more flexibility in materials, which should make it more attractive to potential tenderers,” said Mr Dowd.
The Hindmarsh Park upgrade is being funded by a $3 million grant from the NSW Government NSW Public Spaces Legacy program. Council has also recently secured significant additional funding to upgrade the Orry Kelly stage in the park.
Mayor Reilly has urged contractors from NSW and beyond to put in a tender to help Kiama Council turn it into a destination park and playspace.
“It would be a huge win for any contractor to take on this project – it’s a beautiful park located front-row-centre in one of NSW’s most popular tourist towns.”
“The current playground is showing its age, as it’s been at least 20 years since it was installed. So the upgrade will be a huge improvement.”
“We had more than 15,000 people through Hindmarsh Park on New Year’s Eve alone this year. It’s a showcase project that any firm would be proud to say: ‘We built that!’.” said Cr Reilly.
The updated tender will go live on Tenderlink before the end of January.
