Former Selwyn Mayor Bill Woods told Selwyn Times he thought the donut was safe in response to comments made in an email revealed under the Local Government Official Information Meeting Act between Malvern Community Board member Calvin Payne and district council governance manager Therese Davel.
Said Payne: “The donut is definitely not ‘a play item’ and has a ‘significant safety issue’.
“The community have identified a safety issue with the donut in Springfield.
“I have reviewed the issue myself using my Site Safe membership and 41 years of experience in the construction industry.
“My personal view is that if the donut was on a construction site it would require full scaffolding to access the centre of the donut for photos to be taken!”
Payne requested that an “urgent” safety review be carried out.
Davel asked what the safety issues in question were, and who in the community reported them.
Payne responded by saying the safety issues were reported by fellow board member Sharn Nu’u.
His comments were backed up by Nu’u who said she felt unsafe when she had climbed on the donut and was worried about fall safety.
Woods, along with Taege Engineering, built the current donut, which was installed in 2012 after the original fibreglass structure was the subject to an arson attack in 2009.
Woods said the donut was designed not to be a fall risk, with the inclusion of matting below it to soften any falls, and the addition of stairs and a rail to assist people to get to its centre.
He said while some people have been able to climb to the top, the design of the sprinkles was done in such a way as to discourage people from climbing to the top.
“All those things were considered at the time, and I know because I did it.”
Woods disagreed with Payne’s comments that the donut was not “a play item”, saying its purpose was for people to take their photo inside it.
Council reserves operations manager Jonathan Crawford said further donut repainting and repairs are likely to happen in November. He said there are no safety issues with it.
“The donut is regularly inspected as part of our parks and reserves and no safety issues have been identified, but we’ll continue to have those discussions with the community board and we’re happy to consider options for improvements to the site through the Long-Term Plan,” Crawford said.
Since it was first installed in 2007 as a promotion for The Simpsons Movie by 20th Century Fox it has become a symbol for the area and a tourist attraction.
Selwyn Times revealed in August the district had spent $17,864 repainting the donut four times between 2020 and 2022.
