Tamahere Park’s new skatepark and playground will be officially opened at 1pm on Friday, June 28.

The ceremonial opening of the park, already drawing huge crowds at weekends, is a way to mark a real milestone for the Tamahere community, says Tamahere councillor Aksel Bech.

Tamahere School’s 70-member Kapa Haka Roopu will be part of the haka powhiri, performing its own haka for the first time.

Tamahere’s new skatepark and children’s playground is proving a magnet for skaters, bikers, scooters, kids and their parents.

It’s the second weekend in a row that people have flocked to the new facility … but this weekend the fences were down to allow for easier access.

When Tamahere Forum stopped by the area was packed with kids of all ages trying out the new play equipment or doing spectacular tricks on wheels on the skatepark.

Thieves have been spotted stripping plants from the new landscaping on Wiremu Tamehana Drive in a brazen daylight robbery.

Yesterday afternoon, alert Tamahere School parents saw two women, thought to be in their early 20s, loading filched plants into a car parked in one of the road’s parking bays.

When approached by a local the two sped off in a car that was said to be loaded with plants.

Wiremu Tamihana Drive, the new road being constructed between Airport and Devine Roads, is progressing well despite wet weather.

From later this month until late August, contractors Fulton Hogan will be widening Airport Rd at the intersection with Wiremu Tamihana Drive to allow for slip lanes, reported the Waikato District Council in its latest update.

When the road is completed in December it will bring about a number of changes, including the closure of the right hand turn from Devine Rd down the SH 1 on-ramp.