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MidCoast Council. located in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, has advised that the future direction of play spaces and skate parks in the region will be guided by two new strategies over the next 12 years.

Following a period of community consultation, MidCoast Council's Playspace and Skatepark Strategies were adopted by Council at the 13th December meeting.

Feedback from the community was considered and some changes were made to the draft documents.

The feedback on both strategies was mainly location based.

The Skatepark Strategy outlines plans to build two new skate parks, upgrade 11 and remove five that are not delivering value for the community.

"Overall, the community provided strong support for the Skatepark Strategy and in particular, for the construction of a district level skate park at Providence Bay Park at Hawks Nest," noted Council's Manager Strategy and Projects, Amanda Hatton.

Feedback on the issues at the Harrington skate park are supported by Council, and that park has been upgraded from a long-term priority to short-term.

In locations where they are to be removed, new skateparks will be built in better locations or there will be upgrades to existing skateparks nearby.

The Playspace Strategy focuses on the future of the 79 playgrounds in the MidCoast region.

It outlines plans to upgrade from three to 15 neighbourhood playgrounds, from five to nine district playgrounds and provide three regional playgrounds for the MidCoast. Regional playgrounds have 20+ pieces of equipment or additional space for hosting larger community events. Eleven play spaces have been identified for removal when they reach the end of their useful life as they are not delivering value for the community.

In locations where they are removed, higher quality contemporary playgrounds will be provided in other nearby parks and reserves.

Hatton added "Community feedback on the Playspace Strategy also touched on the need for supporting infrastructure in some locations including barbecues, shade and fencing.

"Our goal is to have innovative and exciting play spaces and skateparks that our community loves.”

Based on the feedback received, the priority and classification of some of the upgrades has been changed:

• Wallabi Point playground was moved from medium-term to short-term priority
• Palm Grove Park, Forster has been updated from no-action to a medium-term priority
• Tea Gardens Library playground was upgraded from Local to Neighbourhood classification

The documents will set the longer-term strategic direction and will be used to seek funding for upgrades and replacements.

The strategies were developed as a recommendation from the MidCoast Open Space and Recreation Strategy 2023 – 2035 as a result of the feedback the community provided during this consultation.

To read the strategies, head to haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/skatepark-strategy and haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/playspace-strategy.

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