Unison lights up new Hastings Skate Park

The youth of Hastings can now enjoy a custom designed skate park in the heart of the city, following the Hastings District Council's development of William Nelson Park. And, thanks to Unison Networks Ltd, providers of the park's LED lighting solution, the community can enjoy the facility in safety, day or night.

Officially opened on 6th October by Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, the newly developed green space features a playground, grassed area, and a specially designed skate park.

Unison partnered with the Hastings District Council earlier this year to supply LED lighting for the park.

Commenting on the project, Unison Group Chief Executive Ken Sutherland stated "this is a great addition to Hastings, and we wanted to support this community space by providing an innovative lighting solution, which is essential for the safe enjoyment of the facility.

"LED lights provide a natural white light, creating a well-lit environment where colours look natural. And in addition to being energy efficient, this new technology provides intelligent control to enable tailoring of the lighting to suit the time of night. It can be dimmed or brightened based on the need, such as public safety or late night skating."

The skate park has been given the seal of approval by Hawke's Bay's U15 skateboarding champion, Tai Manuel-Wepa, who added "the park has a bit of everything ... it's street like skating in town, so now we won't have to."

A move to LED lighting is being considered by Councils nationally, so the installation of this technology at William Nelson Park will enable Unison and the Hastings District Council to gain first-hand experience of the benefits of the technology for electricity distributors, Councils and the community.

For more information go to www.unison.co.nz

Image: Tai Manuel-Wepa test the new skatepark.