The City of Launceston council approved the proposal at Monday’s council meeting, noting it as a sensitive and needed upgrade to the playground area below the Basin Cafe.

With a focus on being both accessible and flood-proof, the new playground will be raised by three metres to the level of the pathway below the cafe, covering the existing rock wall.

Alderman Hugh McKenzie said as a regular walker, he “did not like to tamper with the Gorge without a lot of thought”.

But the plans, he said, “just adds to the character of the Gorge and will only enhance the way it looks and feels”.

Under the new plans, the existing playground will be expanded by about 350 square metres, with a large boulder rock wall assisting in preventing flood damage and re-directing water away from infrastructure.

Alderman Janie Finlay said the playground’s specific design to move water away from infrastructure in flood events was needed, and helped return the First Basin closer to its original state.

Deputy mayor Rob Soward said it had taken a while to reach the stage where council was comfortable with the upgraded designs for the Gorge.

“The gorge is one of the most iconic areas in the city, I’m very comfortable we’re getting it right,” he said.

The new playground’s design was described as bringing “a lot of sensitivity into the nature-based play area” by Alderman Emma Williams.

The design includes an outdoor amphitheater, a water play zone, native plantings, boulders, tree trunks, a sand pit, an accessible swing set, sensory garden, and a mouse-wheel treadmill.