A new Waihola group hopes to build a ''unique destination'' playground at the township's lakeside domain.
A proposal presented to the Clutha District Council's district assets committee last week said organisers hoped Waihola would become a destination for families and ''picnickers'' from the coastal Otago area.
''It shouldn't be a place for people to just stop on their way to somewhere better,'' it said.
Waihola resident Tim Wiel said a group of about seven people was behind the idea. Its aim was to create a ''unique'' playground.
The Waihola Playground Trust held its first meeting last month, and hoped to be an official charitable trust this week, he said.
Mr Wiel said families were drawn to playgrounds, and he and his wife had taken their young family to Mosgiel several times to use a playground which had ''amazing equipment and features''.
The group had been in contact with the Taieri Community Facilities Trust (formerly the Mosgiel Community Playground Trust) which built its own playground and ''gifted'' it to the Dunedin City Council. He said the proposed Waihola playground would be unique, modern, and safe. Money to build the proposed playground would come from fundraising events and grants.
Clutha council community services co-ordinator Loesje Morrison said while the new playground would be an asset to the township, the group would need to investigate costs and funding opportunities, and consult Waihola residents.
Bruce ward councillor Bruce Vollweiller said the idea had been ''approved in principle'' by Waihola Looking Forward, and fellow ward councillor Gaynor Finch said Mr Wiel was ''really, really enthusiastic'' about the project.
The committee voted to approve the idea to develop a playground on the lakeside site, recommending the group consult council staff.
