This petition is to show support and to prove that there is a genuine local need for a new concrete skatepark in The Hills Shire Council. 

Skateparks are proven to increase health, well-being, community cohesion whilst reducing social exclusion and anti-social behaviour.

The new world class skatepark will be a free-to-use, safe, inclusive and family orientated sports facility for users of all ages. Professionally designed and constructed with design input from the local community and future skatepark users.

The Hills Shire Council has endless amounts of playgrounds, courts, fields and now is the time to invest into skateparks. With the rising acceptance of skateboarding worldwide, the sport has become more popular than ever before. Skateboarding was just introduced to the Olympic Games for the first time in history with Australian skateboarder Keegan Palmer taking home a gold medal for Australia at the Tokyo 2020 games. 

There has been a significant growth in the use of Skateparks in the last 20 years. This can be demonstrated via the fact there is now over 2000 purpose built skateparks of varying age, size and style located all over Australia where thousands of Australians are engaging in active recreation every week.

Other surounding councils are seeing this growth and building state of art skateparks in their community. Hornsby Shire Council has skateparks located in Berowra, Thornleigh, Cherrybrook and Galston. City of Parramatta just built a brand new skatepark at John Wearne Reserve, Carlingford. City of Blacktown has skateparks located in Lalor Park, Rooty Hill and Riverstone. City of Ryde have recently built a world-class facility designed by Convic Skateparks at Meadowbank.

The Hills Shire is one of the fastest-growing regions in NSW. In fact, more than 250,000 people will call the shire home by 2031. As Sydney’s north-west continues to grow, a key focus for the Hills Shire Council needs to be accommodating that growth to all of its residents. The only skatepark in The Hills Shire is Balcombe Heights Skate Park, which was recently upgraded. This skatepark is poorly designed and contains a number of high risks including over crowding, as it is the only skatepark in the area. 

Our Mayor recently stated that “More people, more families and more homes literally mean we need more of everything,” says Byrne. “Parks, playgrounds, sports fields, community facilities, things for people to do."

We see loads of playgrounds and sports fields... but no skateparks? 

A new skatepark will not only benefit local skaters, it will be an asset to the whole community. Skate facilities are not just recreational facilities in the same way that tennis courts are, well designed and managed skate facilities become a hub for creativity, social interaction and community building, especially for the youth. A skate facility can be a catalyst for healthy community life in which young and old socialise, have fun, develop new skills, make new friends, hang out and so much more.