People in Hastings aren't dipping into the local pools this summer, with claims the city's popular Splash Planet is a health and safety hazard.
The waterpark closed two years ago due to COVID-19 and reopened last year. However, Flaxmere woman Jade-Demelza Hughes said she was shocked to find playgrounds overgrown, an obstacle course with damaged parts and pools she said smelled dodgy.
Hughes paid $54 to visit the Hawke’s Bay water park on Waitangi Day with her son, her friend and her friend's child.
"It's rundown, it's unkept, there are not enough staff around you, and you can see that the staff members don't look happy," she said in a video posted on TikTok.
Hughes said the changing rooms and slides were "filthy", while an indoor pool "stank of urine".
"I'd definitely question the hygiene but the kids that go there probably have a blast because they don't look at it how adults do."
She said an obstacle course also had bolts and parts missing, which she believed a young child could easily fall through - calling it "dangerous".
Another woman, who visited Splash Planet not long after Christmas, told Stuff the facility was "absolutely feral", saying she decided to leave after 60 minutes - complaining of overcrowding and claiming the indoor pool was discoloured.
"I was questioning whether the water was being replenished and chlorinated properly," she said.
The Hastings District Council (HDC), which operates the park, told Newshub heavy rainfall and warm weather had led to a higher growth rate of vegetation in the park.
"We can confirm that all mandatory health and safety checks are carried out on the pools and playgrounds pre-season and continually throughout the season," HDC manager of community wellbeing and services, Rebekah Dinwoodie, told Newshub.
"We are confident that all facilities accessible to the public this season have been safe."
She said the council appreciates feedback from customers and "it all gets considered at the end-of-season debrief sessions to assist with continuous improvement".
