Indoor skatepark RampAttak receives green light from Ipswich City Council

A new indoor skatepark will soon open its doors at Ipswich. The centre will give skating, BMX, scootering and blading fans a safe place to hone their skills and hang out with like-minded people. SEE THE PLANS

A group of skating enthusiasts are calling on their community for help to bring a “much-needed” park to Ipswich so local riders have a safe place where they can practice, improve, and socialise.

RampAttak has been popular among young southeast Queensland skaters — and rollerbladers, scooter riders, and BMX riders — since it opened at Geebung in 2009.

But the Brisbane skate centre was sadly forced to close in early 2020 after Covid-19 lockdowns, leaving its operators scrambling to find another suitable facility.

RampAttak owner Wayne Larkins said Ipswich was identified as an ideal location for a park.

His organisation quickly got to work “jumping through hoops” to acquire approvals from Ipswich City Council.

He said it had been an expensive exercise proving the park would be an asset to Ipswich as it required a number of reports be written and reworked.

Wayne Larkins at the Geebung skating facility. Picture: Josh Woning

A council spokesman confirmed the group’s application to build the indoor skatepark, at 3 Mary St in Blackstone, had been approved.

“The approval includes conditions which limit the operation hours to Monday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm,” the spokesman said.

“The provision of acoustic walls and building attenuation measures allows the operating hours to extend past 6pm.”

Mr Larkins said RampAttak needed the help of its supporters, as the eight-month delay in receiving council approval caused “phenomenal, excessive setup costs” it was not prepared to pay.

“We are fundraising, so all riders and anyone in the southeast Queensland community can continue to have this unique asset (and) world-class facility in their backyard,” he said.

The lower level of the Blackstone skatepark will include a skate bowl and the upper level will include a ramp.

The group has raised more than $10,000 in a matter of days, but has a goal of raising $55,000 before it reopened.

Donations would go towards costs such as rent, insurance, legal fees, storage and container hire, employee wages, and new government reports.

A long list of jobs must also be completed including building more ramps, improving lighting, building an acoustic fence, completing concreting, and upgrading the existing toilet plumbing system.

Mr Larkins said he was looking forward to welcoming Ipswich residents into the RampAttak family upon its reopening.

Mr Larkins said many of the people who frequented Brisbane’s RampAttak were aged between eight and 15. Picture: Facebook / RampAttak Indoor Skatepark

“The social (side of things) is a big part of it,” Mr Larkins said.

“Kids just want to feel like they belong and not everyone plays a mainstream sport.

“It gives kids in the action sports community somewhere to fit in, a place where they feel comfortable and at home.”

RampAttak employs about a dozen teens who each work between five and 20 hours per week, as well as two to three full-time staff.

The organisation is looking to hire more young people from the Ipswich area when it opens sometime in the next month or two.

To donate to the group’s GoFundMe, click here.