Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Skatepark in line for upgrade (+video)

By Daniel O'Mahony
Rotorua Daily Post·
30 Jun, 2015 07:40 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Skater Treston Stokes-Ngatokorua, 17, thinks Rotorua’s main skatepark is in desperate need of an upgrade. Photo / Stephen Parker

Skater Treston Stokes-Ngatokorua, 17, thinks Rotorua’s main skatepark is in desperate need of an upgrade. Photo / Stephen Parker

The Rotorua Lakes Council has signalled its intention to upgrade the city's main skatepark, as skaters claim neglected equipment poses safety risks and keeps people away.

Councillors have agreed to undertake community consultation on the future of the Ranolf St skatepark, after hearing submissions from skaters pleading for it to be improved.

The council will work with users to develop designs for an upgrade, and did not rule out the possibility of a new location for the park.

However, it stopped short of guaranteeing funding for the project.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Councillor Charles Sturt, the council's portfolio lead for sports and recreation, suggested some form of joint funding would be needed for any upgrades.

Last week the Rotorua Daily Post was given a tour of the park by one of the skaters who made a submission.

Treston Stokes-Ngatokorua, 17, pointed out a number of issues he said posed risks for park users, including rough concrete, loose bolts, and metal ramps which had been repaired with uneven planks of wood.

Often, he said, it was left up to park users to fix these problems.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We have to come down here with our screwdrivers and sort it out."

Mitchell Law, 21, blamed the park's state of disrepair for keeping users away.

"Skating has died out in Rotorua over the past year as the park has got worse," he said.

The park received its last significant upgrade in 2006.

Discover more

Farmers to dominate proceedings

05 Jun 09:00 PM

Youth speak on issues

12 Jun 11:30 PM

Chopper appeal raises $15,000

15 Jul 12:30 AM

Garry Page, the council's open spaces operations lead, said the skatepark was checked for maintenance every two weeks, with "any breakages or other work required being attended to promptly".

He said there was no record of public complaints about the skatepark in the last year, and encouraged skaters to let the council know of any issues.

Mr Stokes-Ngatokorua said he planned to start his own fundraising campaign for upgrades to the park.

Both he and Mr Law believed improving the park would make skaters from around the country more likely to visit Rotorua.

Although councillors had discussed the possibility of moving the inner-city skatepark to a new location, Mr Sturt said he would prefer to see the park upgraded, with the help of a funding partner. "The beauty of that skatepark is everyone can see it ... and it's close to city services."

Mr Page said the project's timing was yet to be finalised.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

13 Jul 04:37 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

12 Jul 11:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

12 Jul 07:10 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

Pene bags season-best performance at mountain biking World Cup

13 Jul 04:37 AM

A Rotorua downhill rider clocks the fastest speed of the round-six final for an 8th place.

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

'Palpable grief': Motorcyclist who killed two people had 11 previous driving convictions

12 Jul 11:00 PM
Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

Rotorua Barn house has shrine to Harry Potter under the stairs

12 Jul 07:10 PM
No more 'hunting hui': Māori educators launch association to curb feelings of isolation

No more 'hunting hui': Māori educators launch association to curb feelings of isolation

12 Jul 06:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP