Design work underway for Royal Park Skate Park upgrade

Published on 09 July 2024

The City of Launceston is facilitating two workshops today to help finalise concept designs for the longawaited update to the Royal Park Skate Park.

Mayor Matthew Garwood said the Royal Park Skate Park was a much loved and well-used facility for recreational skateboarders, inline skaters, BMXers, scooter riders as well as for other uses such socialising and artwork.

"Originally built in the 1990s and upgraded in 2008, the Council has acknowledged that the skate park is tired and no longer meets contemporary standards," Mayor Garwood said.

"This project is not a replacement of the existing skate park - the scope of works is to improve the existing skate park, and this may involve removal or modification of features as well as an increase in size of the skate park footprint."

The City of Launceston has allocated $300,000 in its 2024/25 budget for the project.

Today's workshops follow an extensive online consultation process conducted by the Council earlier this year.

During this process, the Council received 258 responses from people aged between 15 and 40 years of age, with 40 per cent describing themselves as frequent users of the Skate Park.

The most popular suggestions for improvement included:

• improved access to amenities including drinking water, seating and shade

• new features including ramps, quarter pipes and other skate features

• enhanced safety

City of Launceston Recreation Planning Officer Ben Clark said the redevelopment would provide a more welcoming and contemporary skate experience, encouraging skill level progression and welcoming spectators into the space.

"This development will expand on the existing Skate Park to provide more skate functionality and increased seating and amenity, creating a more inviting space for the wider community," Mr Clark said.

The upgrade is expected to be completed this financial year.