Skate park plans get the green light
Planning on a roll with unanimous council approval
The Woodville Skate Park Team gained unanimous approval in principle and endorsement to go ahead and seek funding for a proposed skate park adjacent ato the Woodville Stadium, at the Tararua District Council’s August 31 meeting.
This team is a subcommittee of the Woodville Community Committee tasked with delivering on a long-term request from the community to build a skate park facility in the town.
The cost of the park is estimated at about $450,000 and the team is looking to secure in kind support from local contractors and “at cost” materials to reduce the total cost.
It has already secured $50,000 from the Waireka Community Trust subject to gaining access to appropriate land for the skate park. Early discussions with representatives of HEB Construction, the main providers in the construction of Te Ahu a Turanga, have also been very positive.
Spokeswoman Vicky Tomlinson said the idea for a skate park started in January 2000 and is long overdue. She said just over 20 per cent of Woodville’s population was under 15 years and the team has learnt, from the town’s own experiences and evidence from national and international projects and studies, that the best approach is to get young people involved with hands-on activities.
She said the design, development and construction of the skate park is one of the best ‘hands on’ projects that could be asked for.
She pointed out government policy is in favour of creating facilities for youth recreation and facilities manager Jessica McKenzie confirmed that a survey of tamariki definitely favoured a skate bowl rather than a pump park.
It is proposed the skate park be built at 62 Ross St, Woodville, on vacant land on the southern side of the Woodville Sports Stadium and across from Fountaine Square, which is the site of the town’s playground. The land has clear TDC title.
Tomlinson said the project had been thoroughly researched.
J-Stone Skate Park Ltd was selected as design partner after discussions with different potential designers. Jason has over 20 years’ experience designing high-quality skate parks for clients all over New Zealand. He won the NZ Reserves Association’s Merit Award in 2016, and demonstrated a significant understanding of community needs, as well as physical design expertise.
The design Jason has developed caters for a range of skater expertise and ensures that children and young people can flow around the park without having to cut across specific skate features — helping to make the park as safe as possible for the use of all ages and abilities.
Reaction from councillors was positive. Councillor Johns said the proposal gained his full support, the site being much better than the former rugby ground and he was delighted the preferred option was a skate bowl.
Councillor Hull asked if there was a committed group to lead it as previous leadership had not progressed the project effectively. Tomlinson said there was a passionate team of four with the prospect of six more to join, “determined to see the project through”.
Mayor Collis asked the team to come up with a paper outlining the steps forward to be presented to the next council meeting.