Part of Invercargill’s Queens Park is set to reopen this Saturday with a warning it will not look or feel the same for a long time.
Invercargill City Council parks and recreation manager Caroline Rain said visitors would see a noticeable difference to one of the city’s most cherished green spaces.
A state of emergency throughout Southland was officially lifted last Friday and the region was in recovery mode following last month’s severe weather event.
Parks and reserves in Invercargill had been expertly assessed and safely reopened but the recovery process at Queens Park would take a significant amount of time.
“Queens Park won’t look or feel the same for a long time,” Ms Rain said.
“The landscape of virtually every part of our beautiful park has been altered and in some cases it will be years before it resembles what it once was.”
The animal reserve, playground and the Cheeky Llama Cafe would be the first parts of the park to reopen.
Some stands of trees had a significant reduction in numbers and many had been uprooted.
Others had limbs and branches removed entirely.
“It’s been pretty devastating for our team to see the scale of damage inflicted at Queens Park and we expect it might be quite confronting for everybody.
“The look and feel of Queens Park might be unfamiliar … but it’s still the same special place at the heart of Invercargill — just with a new face.”
The second stage of reopening would be the area immediately surrounding the band rotunda, leading south to Feldwick Gates on December 5.
Ms Rain said the council was doing everything possible to ensure Christmas could be celebrated in the park.
Other sections of the park including the golf club, the remainder of Coronation Ave and the tracks around the perimeter of the park including those from Kelvin St, Herbert St, and Queens Dr required more intensive remedial work before the public would be able to access them safely.
“We know how loved Queens Park is and that our community is eager to be able to visit it again.
“We are really grateful for the patience and encouragement of everybody in the community, as we’ve worked to ensure that our green spaces can be accessed safely …” — Allied Media