The Northern Grampians Shire Council has taken a big step towards the development of the Stawell skate park after it endorsed the proposed designed at March' council meeting.
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Council has been assessing plans to develop the sites since 2016 and has now endorsed the concept design and approved progression of the project to the next stage.
Gabe Tonkin and Colby Murphy have been skating at the North Park site for a long time and are hoping to see some big changes come to life.
"We used to come down every day for at least an hour for about five years, but we don't come down that often any more," Tonkin said.
"I think the plans look good, but they need to go ahead.
"It (planning) has happened in the past, but nothing has really been done about it yet."
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Having viewed Enlocus Landscape Architects' revised concept plan for the site they liked the addition of box jumps and bowl skating structures.
"I like how there is a clear box jump in the plan," Tonkin said.
"I always wanted a box jump here and I also like the quarters and bowls they have planned.
"Heaps of people will be able to use it and pump around it, it'll be good."
Murphy and Tonkin also said removing the metal ramps should improve safety on wet and windy days.
"At the moment the metal ramps aren't good, we need concrete ones," Murphy said.
"On a day when it rains it can take about two hours to get back on to it, but with concrete it dries right away."
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"The concreate ones are also better because they dry quicker and when they mow the lawns (at North Park) the metal ramps get dusty and that makes them twice as slippery," Tonkin said.
The boys were also keen to see some a bigger shaded area included in the new precinct to give skaters a cool spot to rest on hot summer days.
Stawell's North Park Skate Park is a step closer to hundreds of thousands of dollars of upgrades after the Northern Grampians Shire Council voted to move ahead with plans develop the site and take the project to the next stage: detailed design.
At the March council meeting the council endorsed the proposed plan with a current estimated budget of $641,000.
But work to the site won't begin for a while, with the proposed makeup of the budget and grant opportunities continuing to be investigated by council.
The council also said they will be aiming to deliver construction in the 2023-24 financial year, subject to that funding.
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