Top designer to work on Thames' skate park
Planning for an incredible new skate park has now begun in earnest after the Thames Community Board approved a design
and resource consent budget of $35,000 at its meeting today.
We will be working with skate park designer Jason Parkes, whose design company Premium Skate Designs is New Zealand's
most experienced skateboarder-owned skate park design and construction company.
Parkes' 34 year international skating career has included 15 years as a sponsored skateboarder. He says his focus is on
designing parks that cater to all styles and abilities of skateboarders, and creating fun, challenging facilities that
will "keep skateboarding evolving for generations to come."
He has designed and built skate parks from Queensland to Queenstown.
The park will be built near the current children's playground opposite the Thames Police station (see map) and will also
be designed for scooters and BMX.
The skate park project also fits well with the separate public toilets upgrade, and we will move the toilets to a better
location on the site.
Thames Community Board Chair Strat Peters says "the project will not move to the construction phase until the Board is
satisfied with the results of the design and consent phase. The Board will also review budgets and risks again at that
time."
In addition, approval for the final build phases will be conditional on community fundraising targets. The
community-driven Sport and Education Community Trust has raised $15,000 so far and a group called "Revolution Crew" has
also begun fundraising in the community with a $22,000 goal. Please support them if you see them about.
The design phase needs to be complete by late September to meet additional funding application deadlines.
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