St Clair School tumuaki/principal Jen Rodgers said contractor South Roads was set to start the work of developing the 4833sqm section of the former Forbury Park raceway into playground areas this week.
The space and the project were blessed with a karakia at a ceremony led by representatives of Otakou Runaka, including the school’s runaka liaison Amie Curtis, last week.
The Ministry of Education bought the land from Harness Racing NZ on behalf of the school early last year, at the same time as the Dunedin City Council bought the rest of the former racecourse for possible development and stormwater management.
"That generous purchase by the Ministry of Education means we can basically double the play area for the school," Whaea Jen said.
"The school has been trying to get a bit more land to expand our playground, without success.
"So this is amazing and it’s going to be game-changing for us."
The extra land, which intersects part of the race track, was measured out and mowed last week, and South Roads was set to start building fencing and installing drainage on Monday, Whaea Jen (Auntie Jen) said.
"The drainage is a very important first step as we can’t risk water coming towards the school buildings in the event of heavy rain," she said.
The drainage, levelling of the ground and installing a water source were being covered by the Ministry of Education, ensuring St Clair School had a "blank canvas" to work with.
So far, the plans included a purpose-built pump track, grass playing field and a quiet space with trees and gardens.
"We will be fundraising towards a pump track built specifically for primary school pupils," Whaea Jen said.
"Fortunately, we have some very skilled people in our school community who are working hard on it."
If all went to plan, it was hoped that pupils would be able to enjoy playing in the new space in term 2.
"It is very exciting — it has been such a long process, but we are on track now.
"I want to acknowledge the Ministry of Education for helping us to get this land and meet the needs of our children."
The project manager for the development will be Stefan Box, of Reece Building Consultants.
A group of St Clair School pupils, who visited the school grounds last week for the Kid Station holiday programme, were excited the development was beginning.
"It’s going to be really cool," pupil Rocco Katipa said.
