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Council & Business

11 August, 2022

Wheels turn on skate park

The wheels are turning on Maryborough’s long-awaited Skate and Scooter Park after years of community campaigning, with an official opening expected this November. The park is being constructed at the Adventure Playground at Princes Park and is...

By Christie Harrison

Central Goldfields Shire’s Wayne Sproull, Grace La Vella, and Chris Meddows-Taylor met with Grind Projects director Steve Kelly (second from left) to see construction get underway on Maryborough’s new Skate and Scooter Park.
Central Goldfields Shire’s Wayne Sproull, Grace La Vella, and Chris Meddows-Taylor met with Grind Projects director Steve Kelly (second from left) to see construction get underway on Maryborough’s new Skate and Scooter Park.

The wheels are turning on Maryborough’s long-awaited Skate and Scooter Park after years of community campaigning, with an official opening expected this November.

The park is being constructed at the Adventure Playground at Princes Park and is expected to be complete by the end of October, weather permitting, before opening the following month.

The project is being delivered by Grind Projects, who were awarded the contract for construction of the park, and director Steve Kelly said it’s exciting to see construction underway.

“It’s been a long time coming, we’re aiming to see the finished product on time,” he said.

“Once it’s all done I think everyone will see the potential of this facility which I’m really looking forward to.”

Mr Kelly said the project is on the larger side of medium-sized projects Grind Projects have worked on.

“What we’re looking at now is basically stage one which is earth works and drainage works,” he said.

“As soon as we’ve got that dirt in and get everything up to height and where it needs to be, we’ll start shaping it all and doing formwork and steelwork.”

As a skater himself, Mr Kelly said he was eager to see the finished product.

“Myself and all the guys who work for me are skaters, we all come from that skateboarding history which gives you a bit more drive and push to make sure you get the job done,” he said.

“It’s more of a passion for us than anything else, it’s a pretty good feeling to be able to actually use what you’ve created — especially seeing young people and kids using the equipment we’ve made for them, it’s super rewarding.”

Central Goldfields Shire Maryborough Ward councillor Wayne Sproull said he’s looking forward to seeing the community enjoy the new facility.

“The Maryborough Skate and Scooter Park is a priority project for council and was identified after more than 1000 youths signed a petition in 2018 for a new skate park and presented it to council,” he said.

“This facility will not only have broad range of health and wellbeing outcomes for our local community, but it will also be utilised by residents of all ages and abilities in our neighbouring townships.

“We know our community is excited about this project, and the good news is that with work now underway there isn’t much longer to wait until our community can enjoy this new facility for many years to come.”

The project is jointly funded by the Victorian Government ($250,000), Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud in partnership with the Maryborough Lions Club ($40,000) and council ($395,000).

Avoca District Co-operative Limited executive officer Julie Driscoll said it’s great to see community funding in action.

“Our vision is to create strong, vibrant and connected communities and we really love this project because it’s a great way to bring kids together and get them outside experiencing something different,” she said.

“From what we understand the skate park will be by far the best in the region. Projects like this happen when people bank with their local community bank — our profits go back to our communities.”

For more information, including a copy of the project designs, visit www.engage.cgoldshire.vic.gov.au/skateandscooterpark

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