AusLeisure

The opening of a new skatepark and inclusive children’s playground has transformed Randwick City Council’s Chifley Sports Reserve over the past 12 months.

The additions are part of a plan to transform the former Women's Athletics Field on Bunnerong Road in the suburb Chifley into a premier sporting facility and community park.

The 7.7 hectare reserve was managed by the Women's Amateur Sports Council from 1955 until Randwick City Council was appointed trust manager in 2008.

Prior to 1955, Council records indicate that a tip operated on site collecting household and building waste to fill the site to create level sports fields. Further filling and levelling was undertaken in the 1980s from the demolition of the Bunnerong Power Station and the field was capped with top soil.

When Council took over the site, the reserve was in poor condition and the buildings in a state of disrepair.

Following community consultation, the Council developed a Plan of Management in 2010 to identify and guide future improvements and works on the site.

The Council's upgrade program saw the opening of the Chifley Skate Park at the end of last year and, more recently, the launch of the Chifley Playground.

The Chifley Skate Park features a large skate bowl and a large street skate area providing two distinct zones for street and bowl skating.

To help design the new skate park, Council set up an advisory group of local experienced skaters, skate park design specialists, consulting Engineers and Council Landscape Architects.

This group developed the design which includes a pump hump, euro gap, hubbas, grind rails, a boomerang bowl, taco, transitions, a wedge bank with hubbas, shelter and weather screening, seating and landscaping with native plants.

Randwick City’s largest ever play area, the Chifley Playground, has been specifically designed with the input of the local community and medical professionals to meet a range of physical, emotional and intellectual abilities.

Catering for all abilities, the playground includes a variety of play equipment, such as a flying fox, combination swing set, rope and net climbing, inclination slides and rock climbing areas. In addition, the playground has a number of sensory toys, including drums, rainmakers, voice tubes, reflection mirrors and tactile sculptures.

The different areas around the playground offer varying levels of challenge to help develop skills in coordination and strength. The playground also incorporates adjacent accessible parking and toilet facilities as well as shade, seating and picnic areas.

Mayor of Randwick, Noel D’Souza, believes the new Chifley Playground will provide a safe space for children to come and play together, explaining “through consultation with local families and medical experts, we have been able to create a playground to meet the needs of all children throughout the community.

“Providing a space that cultivates learning, inclusivity and fun for the community is important to Randwick City Council and I’m really excited to see children and their families come and play at the playground.”

Chifley Sports Reserve is one of the largest sporting reserves in Randwick City and an important recreational space for the residents living in Randwick City's southern suburbs.

Images: Chifley Playground (top) and Chifley Skate Park (below). Courtesy of Randwick City Council.

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