By engaging end-users, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council ensured community-wide respect for its ambitious $700,000 skate park, constructed in 2011 by Melbourne-based contractor, Convic.

By Gemma Black

In 2006, the skating fraternity in Port Macquarie-Hastings Council on the NSW mid-north coast was in dire need of an upgrade to their skate park. By 2011, they had a world-class, $700,000 facility that would prove popular among skaters and spectators alike.

“A few of the users approached council about the need for something bigger and better,” says Liam Bulley, Council Group Manager of Recreation and Buildings. “We wanted to engage with people using the space, so we formed a skate park committee,” he says.

“It can be quite challenging to engage with youth, so a fair bit of thought was put into how we managed that process,” says Bulley. Meetings were mostly held on-site with the council’s Youth Liaison Officer on behalf of Bulley’s team as the asset owners, he says.

When a combination of council and federal funding was eventually secured for the project in 2010/11, council returned to the skate park committee to finalise the design before construction commenced. The time taken had been frustrating for some of the end-users, Bulley says, “but these things take time” and the end-result would be worth the wait, he adds.

Construction challenges

The skate park’s planned location at the junction of Town Beach and the Hastings River introduced a number of challenges to the design and construction team, says Convic Operations Manager, Jerry Kassab. 

“The concrete skate park was designed for a highly corrosive environment, due to the close proximity of salt water,” he explains. This involved increasing both the specified cover to the concrete reinforcement and the strength of the concrete to ensure the steel reinforcement was protected from corrosion. “Reinforcement placement and cover was closely monitored on-site to ensure these critical requirements were met,” he says.

Council also employed an external engineering consultancy to supervise the works. “They kept a strict quality-control regime,” Kassab says.

Convic faced another challenge when, during bulk earthworks, they encountered the filtration system of an old aquarium previously located on the site. “We also encountered the water table during the high tides,” Kassab says. “We had to excavate and replace the unsuitable material in wet, unfavourable conditions.”

Significant geotechnical improvements to the subgrade were required. The closed skate bowl was excavated to a depth of up to 1.2m below the finished concrete level, and the lower 900mm was replaced with 40/20mm graded rock to improve drainage. The top 300mm was formed with compacted crusher dust to ensure compaction levels were not compromised.

The project was completed in late 2011, on budget and on time. “For a regional council, $700,000 was a significant investment on a skate park and that had been questioned by a lot of people at the time the original announcement was made,” Buller says. “But now that it’s actually in the ground, we’ve received really positive feedback.”

Winning formula

The park was an instant hit with the end-users, thanks in no small part to their involvement throughout the process. “They have that ownership of the facility, and as a result you don’t see a lot of graffiti, the area’s kept relatively tidy, there’s that level of respect from the end-user,” says Bulley. 

But it’s not just the local skaters and BMX riders who appreciate the new facility; it has also become a drawcard for spectators, both locals and tourists. 

“I remember on the day it opened, I had a retired couple from Sydney approach me to say they’d been down there twice that day just to watch the skaters; they were really impressed,” Bulley says. 

Leveraging off the success of the Port Macquarie Skate Park project, the council has turned the site into a recreational hub, with a new playground installed and plans for a permanent amenities block and a kiosk currently at the design stage, with construction budget already allocated.

“It’s a really iconic reserve and something that the community should be really proud of,” Bulley says. 

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