The next phase of Horsham Rural City Council’s City to River Masterplan is ready to begin with the contract for the Horsham Nature Play Park on the Wimmera Riverfront awarded this week.
The contract for design and construction of the Nature Play Park has been awarded to Melbourne’s AWS Services for $1.4 million, while Bridgewater Marine Pty Ltd of Point Lonsdale has been contracted to design and construct three riverfront activation nodes for $463,959.
During the procurement process for Nature Play Park, Council sought interest from Wimmera contractors, but did not receive any local tender responses, Council said in a statement.
Mayor Robyn Gulline said delivery of the projects would be managed in accordance with relevant COVID restrictions that apply at the time of the works.
“While Council tried hard to accommodate local construction companies in what was an extended procurement process, this time there were no tenders received from Wimmera suppliers,” she said.
“However we look forward to working with the successful contractors who will each bring specialist expertise to the respective projects.
“There are plans to use local materials and sub-contractors wherever possible. Any workers who do travel from outside the region will be required to adhere to the COVID procedures that apply at that time.”
She said construction of the riverfront nodes would start now and were scheduled to be completed by the end of March next year.
The three nodes will create a link, both physical and visual, between the land and the river, by providing river edge access and viewing platforms. The works will act as a series of interconnected landmarks that will subtly support and enhance activities along the river’s edge.
For the Nature Play Park, the next step is for the architectural design process to be completed. Once that is adopted by Council, construction will start next year.
Mayor Gulline reiterated that it would not be a splash park, rather a Nature Play Park with child-powered water and non-water play elements that can be used year round.
“People can expect to see hand-pumped water and hand-turned water wheels. No chemical treatment or filtration is required onsite as we will be using mains water.”
The $2,453,000 Horsham Nature Play Park project is fully funded by State and Federal grants.
Mayor Gulline said flood modelling of the riverfront had been conducted to ensure the structures did not adversely impact on the river flow or other properties.
“This flood modelling has been reviewed and approved by the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority,” she said.
