Kiama's Hindmarsh Park needs a new playground but no-one wants to build it

The council worked with Civille design consultancy to create a very unique design you won't find in a catalogue, which may seem too "complex" according to Mayor Neil Reilly.

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He said it shouldn't be tossed in the "too hard basket" because the council is willing to revise plans and working with a construction company to see their vision for the prime location come to life.

"They've spoken in silence, we've put the the tender out and we haven't found any responses," Cr Reilly, adding they have a time limit to use a $3 million government grant for the project.

"It's really special to Kiama and we want it to look a million bucks."

Due to council restraints Cr Reilly said they couldn't just tap a company on the shoulder but they needed to apply, while contractors already used for playground upgrades had kept quiet.

"I'm more than prepared to sit down and talk to people and come up with a solution that's going to be good for our community for generations to come," he said.

The unique design - inspired by the Indigenous and cultural heritage of Kiama - won't be a "plug and play" design, which Cr Reilly feared may have turned some contractors away.

The council's Director of Engineering Mike Dowd expressed disappointment at the lack of tenders so far and said the feedback had been that construction firms are booked solid, the distance from Sydney was an issue (1.7 hours by road), the design challenging, and the Christmas break had resulted in less interest.

The playground has been planned to be split into five zones including water play, climbing, toddler play, and an adventure zone and nature play. Each will contain accessible areas and equipment and have soft fall ground surfaces.

It forms stage one of the $3 million Hindmarsh Park upgrade, which will retain all the open green spaces as well as the trees on the site.

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It's is being funded by a $3 million grant from the NSW Government NSW Public Spaces Legacy program. Council has also recently secured significant additional funding to upgrade the Orry Kelly stage in the park.

"The current playground is showing its age, as it's been at least 20 years since it was installed," Cr Reilly said.

"We had more than 15,000 people through Hindmarsh Park on New Year's Eve alone this year. It's a showcase project that any firm would be proud to say: 'We built that!'"

The updated tender will go live on Kiama's Tenderlink before the end of January.

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