Over 1000 sign to stop Rosny skate park being bowl-ed over

One of the state’s most expensive skate park facilities has gained over 1000 supporters in an online petition backing its future against the AFL high performance centre.

Mike Van Broek, 53 in the skate bowl at the new Kangaroo Bay skate park at Rosny PICTURE: LUKE BOWDEN

Rosny residents are rallying around the community’s skate park as it vies for a future against the AFL High Performance Centre as a petition garnered over 1000 signatures in just three days.

The skate park was built by Clarence City Council in 2016 at a cost of $1.4m and is located close to where the council’s preferred plan designates a secondary oval in Charles Hand Park.

The future of a number of facilities such as the Rosny Tennis and Bowls club are up in the air as designs for the centre wait to be approved, with the skate park the latest to collect community backing in a Change.org petition.

AFL High Performance Centre, Tasmania Football Club board member Roger Curtis and footballer Andrew Phillips at Rosny. Picture: Chris Kidd

Save the Rosny Skate Park petition organiser Phoebe Nash said residents wanted some certainty on the future of the skate park amid ongoing planning for the AFL Performance Centre.

“If you look at the council website currently, it says no decision to remove the skate park has been made and all decisions will be informed by the precinct’s planning process,” Ms Nash said.

“Given that it’s quite ambiguous, we want the council to say unambiguously, the skate park will stay and it’ll be protected from the Performance Centre development.”

Ms Nash said current online plans for the Performance Centre don’t include the skate park, but that the development site doesn’t impede on the skate park’s boundary.

“There’s potential for them to coexist,” Ms Nash said.

“Not only is it one of Tasmania’s most expensive skate parks, but it has the biggest, deepest skating bowl in the state. There is no other parks quite like it and groups like SheShreds that use the park will have nowhere to turn if it’s demolished.”

Mike Van Broek, 53 in the skate bowl at the new Kangaroo Bay skate park at Rosny PICTURE: LUKE BOWDEN

Clarence City Council Mayor Brendan Blomeley said the council had no current plans to remove the skate park, given that the proposed High Performance Centre was in “the very early stages of the concept designs”.

“We know the Rosny Skate Park is a much loved community asset and popular among a diverse range of people across greater Hobart,” he said.

“Before any decision is made on the skate park, as well as the position of the High Performance Centre in Rosny Parklands and Charles Hand Park, we will go back out for community consultation with a detailed precinct plan.

“Council is always willing to meet with and listen to any community groups interested in projects within our city.”

The Save the Rosny Skate Park petition will be tabled at Clarence City Council’s next meeting scheduled for May 27.