Property Improvements
It’s been a busy year, and the Property Team has been working incredibly hard to support centres across Aotearoa.
This financial year (since 1 September 2024), our team has completed 197 major projects and 208 minor works projects — that’s over 400 improvements across Playcentre environments nationwide. Each one helps create safer, more inspiring spaces for tamariki to learn and grow.
We’re currently managing 99 active projects, and we’re excited to keep the momentum going.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported these efforts — your collaboration and commitment make all the difference!
Property Projects
The property team follow an 8-step process for projects. More information and FAQs about the property project process are available on the Playcentre website.
New Property Team Member – Errol Reid
The Property Team has recently grown. Errol Reid is our new Property Projects Manager. He will be managing prioritised projects and will be covering the North Island.
“I am originally from a small surfing village called Amanzimtoti, south of Durban in South Africa. My wife, Margo is from Dunedin, and we have two grown up children, Kirsten & Keegan. I’m a golfer, a fisherman and a fan of rugby (no surprise – being a South African living in NZ!).
I have been in engineering and construction for some 40+ years, still love it, as buildings are my passion. Projects I’ve been involved with are Graaf Reniet Game reserve, Knysna Natural Forest Lodge and Tekapo’s 5 Star Peppers Blue Resort.”
Halswell Playcentre Shadesail
This project has been a long time in the making, and we’re thrilled to see it completed!
The Playcentre swings were closed following a Playsafe visit, and the need for new soft fall was identified as part of the overall upgrade. Once our contractors were in place, everything ran smoothly, and the results are fantastic.
A huge thank you to Simon Construction for their excellent work on the swings and edging, and to Canterbury Landscapes for installing the new soft fall. Your efforts have made a big difference for our tamariki!
SiteWise Update
We wanted to take a moment to talk about a change that’s been happening behind the scenes—one that’s all about keeping our centres safe and supported.
Playcentre Aotearoa has recently introduced SiteWise, a national system that helps us make sure all contractors working on our properties meet health and safety standards. This is part of our responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and it means we’re now taking on the management of all property projects.
We know this might feel like a big shift—especially for centres that have had amazing local contractors (and even talented parents!) helping out over the years. Many of these contractors have been incredibly generous, and we’re so grateful for that. In order to keep everyone safe and protected, we now need to make sure all work is done by contractors who are registered or prequalified. It might take a little time to get used to, and yes, sometimes it might cost a bit more—but it’s all about making sure our environments are safe and compliant.
We now have access to a database of over 10,000 prequalified contractors, and we’re working hard to make sure we can find the right people for each job. Thank you for the 278 responses we received from centres regarding contractors to be invited to join the Sitewise database.
If your centre needs something done, just reach out to us. We’ll take care of organising the work, so you don’t have to worry about the paperwork or the risks.
Thanks for your patience and understanding as we embed this new process. We’re all in this together, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
Building Check
If you notice any recent damage to the exterior of your building, in the first instance please notify the Property Team at
[email protected]. Please include images and details of the damage.
Property FAQ
Property FAQs are available on the website. These are updated as new questions are asked. If you have had situations at your centre that you think other centres may appreciate knowing, please let us know at [email protected] and we can arrange for them to be added to the FAQ page of the Playcentre website.
Contact Us
To contact the Property Team please call 03 260 7787 or email [email protected]. Please remember to include your centre name in the subject line of your email. This is hugely helpful for us to keep our inboxes in order as we receive hundreds of emails each week.