FAQs

The Wollongong City Centre park will be a regional level park. This will be a larger skate facility that will be able to hold a large number of skatepark users and cater for varying abilities. 

Thirroul will be a neighbourhood level park This means it will be smaller in size and cater for the local needs of the community. 

Once we collect all the information from our community on who they are and how they use skateparks, we will see how it works with the sites we are considering. 

News on locations in Thirroul and Wollongong will be announced soon. When we move further into the site specific engagement, we will let the community know what site we think is most suitable. We will look to ask the community questions as part of the in-person design workshops and surveys on what they think of the site for a new skatepark for both Thirroul and Wollongong.

We have committed to ensuring the design of the new skateparks are considerate of the variety of users. We will ask the community who are interested in using our future skateparks what elements they like that make them feel safe in a space like a skatepark. 

We will work with the awarded designer of the park for their expertise and knowledge of what elements and features are needed for a skatepark to feel safe and inviting. 

We will also work internally with our Community Development staff, which include our Youth Services team, Community Safety and Disability and Inclusion Officers to provide their input and previous knowledge they have around the sites. As they work with the community on a daily basis, our Community Development team can provide valuable knowledge and expertise in what actually makes a skatepark feel safe and inclusive for women and gender diverse people in our community. 

Initially, the conversation with the community has been set up so that we get a better understanding of who our skatepark users are. The reason we have done it this way is so that when we work with the designer, we can present all the background information we have recently heard from the community and they can consider it in how we chat to the community on the new parks for Wollongong and Thirroul.

There will be opportunities for workshops and surveys around the new skateparks in their location in the future. These will give a chance for the community to tell us what specific elements and styles they want that will suit the budget and location. For now we want to know who we are talking to and how they want to talk to us at Council first before we jump head first into the designs for Wollongong  and Thirroul. 

The Port Kembla Community Skate Space project is a grass-roots initiative, where the community has led the consultation and design of the park with the community to date. The Port Kembla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PKCCI) were successful in receiving a $500k grant from the NSW State Government and the Port Kembla Community Investment Fund. Since July 2023, the PKCCI has been working with the skatepark users in Port Kembla to design their dream community skate space. We are now asking the community to provide their feedback on the preferred location for a community skate space in King George V Oval. The community can do this by visiting the Port Kembla Community Skate Space and completing the online survey. Feedback closes 15 April 2024.

The Port Kembla Chamber of Commerce and Industry has secured funding for a new local level skate space. Wollongong Council is assisting the Chamber in planning and design for this facility. The feedback currently open for consultation is confirming whether the preferred location proposed by the PKCCI is supported by the community. Community feedback is important to us. It will outline our next steps in planning for a skate space in Port Kembla. You can view the project page here - Port Kembla Community Skate Space. 

In August 2023, Council heard from almost 400 people what their preferred piece of equipment would be for a mobile skate park. A 'single large mini ramp' was the most popular. We are currently procuring the most suitable piece for the community. Once the choice is finalised, we will promote to the broader community where the mobile park will land first and how often it will be rotated. 

The mobile skate facility will be designed for basic to intermediate level users.

The survey and ideas tool will form as the basis of information will will use to work with our skatepark designer when the time comes. It will also inform important things like our 'Play Strategy' and 'Sports and Recreation Strategy'. When we work to design the skateparks in their location, we will go back to the community for input about the design, look and feel.