Arches could greet visitors driving into Lawrence after the old town swimming pool is decommissioned.
Designer Marjorie Hay, of Lawrence, presented her vision for the old pool site to the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board last week.
The proposal, first mooted at a public meeting on March 25, would reuse the existing structure in the pool and take advantage of its exposed wooden interior roofing beams.
Mrs Hay said the exposed beams, now covered by the pool's roof ''are beautiful as sculptures in their own right''.
''They're beautiful curves; it's a beautiful form,'' she said.
She asked the community board to consider preserving the beams, filling in the pools with soil, and removing the roofing, walls, building and pathways at the site, which could be used as a decorative garden, a sculpture park, or a music venue for outdoor events.
The remaining form would echo the David Trubridge sculpture - Tale of Southland-Murihiku - in Invercargill.
Community board chairman Geoff Davidson said he liked the idea and said it could serve as something of an archway at the entrance of Lawrence.
Clutha District Council chief executive Steve Hill said discussions could begin at the council level during its reserves and community facilities reviews, which were expected to be undertaken on a community-by-community basis beginning in July.
Mr Hill said while he understood Balclutha's Naish Park and the Waihola campground had been flagged as priorities, it appeared there was ''reasonable'' support for the proposed park and he urged Mrs Hay to create a more detailed proposal, including engaging the community, and turning her suggestion into ''more of a proposal than it currently is''.
The pool would be decommissioned in the next 12 to 18 months.
When construction of the soon-to-be-completed $2.3 million Tuapeka Aquatic Centre began nearby, the idea of a skateboard park in town had been touted, but the idea fell flat at the March 25 meeting.
Reusing the existing structure to create a park would have economic and environmental benefits, Mrs Hay said.
The beams, which would create the sculptural form, were ''just sitting there waiting for us to possibly use'', she said.
''As you come into town it would be such a lovely form.''
