Plans approved for new Christchurch skate park and landscaping

Plans have been approved for a skate park in the Christchurch coastal suburb of Sumner, alongside planning approval for the wider Village Green. The Waikura/Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board signed off on the Sumner Village Green landscape plan and the site name, with work on the skate area set to start this summer.

The skate park includes a 1.9 metre deep pool bowl with an upper 1.2 metre deep mini bowl section; a 1 metre to 1.2 metre deep flow bowl with a corner extension; a turnaround quarter pipe and an ‘across and down’ ledge.

The plan also includes ramps into the pump bump area and the manual box, along with a high pump bump, a rail, a quarter pipe, a rollover finger and learner, bank and angled ledges.

Seating, pool-style fencing and landscaping will mark the skate park area off Nayland Street.

Board Chairperson Alexandra Davids says that the Sumner Village Green is really at the heart of the local community, and the decision to approve the overall landscape plan means that “work can move forward on the development of the skate park.”

Davids adds “a strong community is built on strong connections and the new skate park offers an inclusive space where particularly young people can gather and become more confident while growing their skills.

“The community has certainly demonstrated overwhelming support for the skatepark and contributed to the design, so it’s wonderful to sign off on these landscape plans. While funding is not available until 2025-26 for the greenspace, we can build the much-needed skate park to meet the needs of our many local skateboarders.”

Davids says it is also important to define the wider area as the ‘Sumner Village Green’ as a space the whole community will be able to enjoy, and to capture local identity.

Work on a detailed design for the skate park will soon start, with the final build subject to contractor availability and relevant consents. There will be fencing in place to restrict access to the rear of the site.

Image courtesy of Christchurch City Council