Rotorua skate park project hits snag after Covid-19 pandemic

Former long-time district councillor the late Charles Sturt (right) and Rotorua Lakes Council sport, recreation and environment manager Rob Pitkethley in September last year. Photo / File

Plans to develop a state-of-the art skate park in Rotorua have hit a speed bump due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But the skate park will still go ahead, once funders are found.

Building of the skate park, which has been a pet project of the late long-serving district councillor Charles Sturt, was supposed to be under way by now but no physical building work has started.

The skate park will be built at Kuirau Park near the new area where the Saturday morning market will be held from this weekend. It will be designed to cater for skateboards, scooters, roller skaters and trick bikes and for those who want to become more advanced in their skill.

The Rotorua Lakes Council has agreed to spend $750,000 and a project team was put together to raise the rest of the money from local and national funds that support community projects.

The Rotorua Daily Post reported in September last year that work would start on the construction of the skate park towards the end of this year.

When asked how the project was coming along, council sports, recreation and environment manager Rob Pitkethley said they had always said this project would rely on external funding.

"We know that funders across the board have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. We will do our best to work through this.

"The impact of Covid-19 on the organisation has meant that council is assessing its current work programmes and those discussions are now moving into planning for the 2021 to 2031 Long-term Plan."

Pitkethley said investigation and design work would continue and the $750,000 was still set aside.

"That has not changed and will continue to be applied while the planning is under way."

He said the skate park project was something the community was very interested in seeing progress and the council was continuing with important preliminary work.

Sturt, who died on his 64th birthday on February 20, had been an advocate for the skate park project and pushed for its funding while on the council.

His daughter, Elizabeth Coppard, said her father was very passionate about the skate park project being upgraded to a top-notch facility that was family-friendly and catered to all levels of ability.

"He wanted it to be a multiple-use facility because our community is also made up of young people and not all young people play organised sports. When asked if this is what the young people of Rotorua wanted, his goal was to see kids "getting off the couch and computer and actively exercising while they enjoyed what they were doing but safely".

Coppard said the family would like to encourage other funders who could support the project financially.

"Once completed it would be an honour for his grandsons to open it in the memory of their Koko's (Koro) advocacy for the youth in the Rotorua community. He would have been so happy to see it completed."

The old skate park would be removed and other uses for the site were being looked at.

At Sturt's last council meeting on August 20, where he bid farewell to more than 30 years' service on the council, Sturt donated a kōwhai tree which he wanted planted at the site once the development was finished.

He said at the time: "It is the last project that I was involved in that's in the budget and one of the reasons I felt comfortable about stepping down."