Ashburton District Council believes the children and young people of our district have a right to be able to enjoy playground and sport field facilities provided by Council in a smoke free environment.

Our Smokefree Sportsfields and Playgrounds Policy promotes smoke-free behaviour to encourage the health and wellbeing of our community.

Background

In 2007, all children's playgrounds in the Ashburton District became smoke-free after two Hampstead School students campaigned for Friedlander Park to become a smokefree area. As a result, a policy was developed, aimed at protecting children and young people from secondhand smoke and encouraging adults to set a smokefree example in parks and playgrounds.

This policy was extended in 2009 to include sports fields in a number of Council-owned parks, and then extended further in 2011 to include the Ashburton Skate Park.

Read the policy here.