Skaters miss out in Milton Tennis Centre redevelopment

Brisbane's skating community has expressed its frustration after Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk rejected plans for a high-quality skating facility at the site of the former Milton Tennis Centre.

After being involved in community meetings and submitting a 62-page formal proposal detailing need for a new facility, the Brisbane Skating Cartel's requests were rejected outright by Lod Mayor Quirk.

Brisbane City Council's recently released draft proposal plan instead shows the 3.5 hectare site will be dominated by children's play facilities and grassed areas.

Cartel founder Scott Shearer said there were already 20 playgrounds in the area and only one skating facility, Paddington's Neal Macrossan Park, which Shearer highlighted had fallen into disrepair, was outdated, and had not kept up with rising demand fostered by population growth and the emergence of various other activities, such as BMX and scooters.

Shearer said the lack of modern facilities in Brisbane meant the city was losing would-be skater stars to the Gold Coast and Melbourne, where local governments were more supportive.

Shearer told The Brisbane Times "the skaters have proven, through attending all the consultation activities, that there's a real need for it.

"For the last 10 years, skateboarding has had a history (at the Frew Park site); when the tennis courts were left dormant, skaters went in there and created their own obstacles - you'd go down on the weekend and you'd have 50 kids down there and it'd be a really positive environment.

In releasing the draft plan, Lord Mayor Quirk and the Council's Parks Committee Chairman, Toowong Councillor Peter Matic, rejected the skate-park proposal as being 'undesirable', and a larger city-scale facility would be better located elsewhere in Brisbane.

However, Brisbane City Council has not revealed if it has formal plans for a new skate-facility existed.

Councillor Matic said he was happy for a petition organised by the Cartel, which had upwards of 1,200 signatures, to be considered in the overall consultation process, but stated "perhaps a better outcome for the group would be achieved by it reviewing the current facility and suggesting what might be done.

"It's now over to the public to have their say and I'd really encourage people to get involved in shaping the future of their local area."

Click here for more information about the proposed redevelopment can be found on the Council's website.

2nd August 2010 - ICONIC QUEENSLAND TENNIS VENUE TO BE REDEVELOPED AS PARKLAND