Rushcutters Bay Park: Eastern suburbs children speak up for skate park
A group of children are finding their voice after residents tried to stop plans to convert a small unused triangle of grass into a skate park at Rushcutters Bay Park.
Wentworth Courier
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The children of Woollahra council are speaking out after a powerful group of residents successfully lobbied state government to list the entire Rushcutters Bay Park on the NSW State Heritage Register in a bid to stifle plans for a skate park.
After a call to arms went out among the youth of the area, the Wentworth Courier was greeted by about 40 children, clutching their scooters, bikes and skateboards which they had used to get to the site where the skate park is to be built.
Sasha Howes, 9, had a nasty crash recently rollerskating on the concrete paths and wishes she had an area where she didn’t have to contend with pedestrians and dogs.
“Because I’m a skater I don’t have a bell so I try to tell people I’m coming by saying excuse me,” said Sasha.
“But I’ve fallen over a few times because people don’t hear me.”
Aedel Costello, 11, said his parents drive him all over Sydney including to Bondi to skate but he’d love to be able to just walk to his local park.
“There’s lot of kids that already come here every afternoon and on weekends just to ride our bikes,” he said.
Father of three and PE teacher Matthew Bowman has attended council meetings for years to show his support for the proposed skate park.
“We live an apartment so this park is the backyard we’ve got,” Mr Bowman said.
“The area where they want to build the skate park isn’t where the serenity is near the harbour. It’s at the back near the train and the traffic.”
Rushcutters Bay resident and Woollahra councillor Anthony Marano said while the heritage listing might hold them up it won’t stop them.
“It just means more red tape, more boxes we have to tick but technically it shouldn’t prevent us from doing it,” Cr Marano said.
“The new site is on a triangle not used by anyone. I’ve never seen anyone there. Grass doesn’t grow properly and it’s in the shade next to the Vibe Hotel not the harbour.
“The noise of the traffic will drown out any noise of skateboard wheels on concrete.
“I think it is NIMBYism. I think for the older generation, maybe skating years ago was perceived as being an activity of delinquent teenagers or young adult drop outs.
“Skating is a very wholesome activity. It’s an official Olympic sport.”
The skate park, which is targeted at children aged eight to 14 and also includes a half basketball court, has a long and complicated history stretching back to 2013.
The original plans were floated in 2016 and shot down the following year after then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull waded in and council conceded the first site near the harbour foreshore was not suitable given many locals use the area for “quiet reflection”.
New plans were duly drafted in 2018, this time without flood lighting, involving no tree removal and located in an already noisy corner of the park near New South Head Rd
The resulting public consultation swamped council with almost 650 submissions.
More than 60 per cent of respondents were for the new skate park and a petition championed by then 11-year-old Jasper Oxley garnered 2350 signatures.
The anti skate park group, lead by the Darling Point Society, produced two petitions with a combined 1000 signatures.
SKATE PARK TIMELINE
April 2013: Council commissions report on play facilities for 8-14 year olds.
September 2013: Skate facility designer is engaged.
September 2015: Rushcutters Bay Park is determined as the site.
April 2016: Public exhibition of first concept plans.
May 2017: Then Prime Minister and Member for Wentworth Malcolm Turnbull speaks out against the plans and council resolves not to progress with the first concept.
October 2017: Revised options investigated by council staff.
February 2018: Council approves the new location near New South Head Rd.
July 2018: Public consultation begins on new concept plan and is swamped by responses.
October 2018: Council endorses the concept plan, allowing for amendments during the detailed design process.
January 2019: Heritage Council of NSW advises council it will be assessing the heritage significance for the entire Rushcutters Bay Park. An Interim Heritage Order is gazetted.
June 2020: The park is officially added to the NSW State Heritage Register.