Work on a new car park for the Cape Wanbrow reserve is expected to begin next week.

An area on Test Street, at the bottom entrance to the reserve, will get 10 new parking spaces, after members of the community had raised the lack of parking as an issue, Waitaki District Council parks and recreation manager Lindsay Hyde says.

The car park work is part of ongoing improvements in the area, involving rabbit control and removal of ageing ponderosa pines, before native planting takes place.

Rabbit control in the form of pindone poisoning began last month, and more information will be circulated about night shooting when that begins, he says.

The implementation of the entire Cape Wanbrow concept plan has been budgeted at $170,000. 

Specialised Services Group will carry out the work on the car park, and while it is under construction, the community is being asked to avoid using the Test Street entrance and obey any directions or signage from contractors, Lindsay says.

Some mountain bike tracks nearby will be temporarily closed during the work, and there may be changes to layouts once the car park is complete.

Work is expected to be finished by the end of August.