A spate of spending on irrigation and lighting for the city's playing fields over the next two financial years is a symptom of drastic cut backs in capital spending on new playing fields over the next 10 years.

Tauranga City Council spending on Wharepai Domain playing fields is contentious when they are considered events fields.

Improving the existing city parks will increase their usage, hopefully saving the council from have to buy new playing fields in the longer term.

It was a policy park director Marie Gordon had to remind councillors of as her draft operational expenditure plan for the next 10 years received a savaging at the Ten Year Plan meeting today.

The $262,800 budgeted to be spent on McLaren Falls set the style.

'What would be the impact if we did nothing, if we took it out altogether,” says Councillor David Stewart.

'The world won't come to an end will it?

'The situation in the world is looking pretty dire. Things aren't going to get better for a couple of years. What is the impact on McLaren Falls if we do nothing?”

Staff said the majority of the McLaren Falls budget is to replace the park's long drop toilets which are no longer complying with Bay of Plenty Regional Council requirements. The regional council has backed off from taking action because staff were able to show the new toilets are in the programme for this year.

Councillors decided to keep the toilets, but drop the new park entrance.

Capital expenditure planned for the city's playing fields largely escaped the first round unscathed, but not unquestioned.

Staff will have another look at the Wharepai Domain when it was learned its planned increased use as a playing field is at odds with the council policy of it being an events field.

Parking issues mean the domain is less popular for events, and its main use is for winter sports, says Marie.

Half a million dollars is budgeted to be spent on resurfacing the domain and installing irrigation.

Moreland Fox Park has near $300,000 set aside for car park development, toilet upgrades and irrigation.

The park is under intense use, the fields get hammered and without irrigation ground repairs are reliant on rainfall. The toilets are acknowledged by councillors to be among the oldest in the city's parks.

'Are we penny pinching and pound foolish if we take that out,” says David Stewart.

Moreland Fox Park's expenditure is approved, for now.

The numbers will be reviewed in November.

Ferguson Park will receive the planned improvements to the playing fields, but not the boat ramp.

Waipuna Park will receive assistance with lighting. The club lighting only covers an edge of the field which takes a lot of punishment.

Mayor Stuart Crosby asked staff to look into the possibility of obtaining a TECT grant for city parks' lighting.