Edited: 14th April, 2008 - Correction made to fundraising efforts

"Over my dead body" is a quote made famous by ex-Councillor, and local police officer, Chris Blackford. It was in response to plans that aimed to relocate Queenstown's ailing skate park to the Recreation Ground. Putting it in perspective, this took place in late 2005, and it signalled Queenstown.com's involvement in the skate park issue from that point. Our Content Manager at the time was Kara-Leah, and she sat down and conducted the first two interviews on behalf on this website. They were with Chris Blackford, and the then chairman of the Wakatipu skate club, John Stapleton.

But as most of us know, that submission process failed, and alas, the Rec Ground was 'saved'. Round two saw the council then seek submissions on a further seven locations, and after a poorly attended meeting, the council and community eventually settled on the location, and low and behold, the Queenstown skate park was destined to stay in it's original location. That took over a year and an unknown amount of ratepayer dollars.

In the August of 2007, we the community were told that the construction of the skate park was due to start in a months time (September) and that it was due to be completed by Christmas of the same year. In November, it was announced that there were changes that needed to be made to the design, and consequently, the price of the park skyrocketed by 25%. The facts behind this seemed to get lost, and not many people seemed to care either. 2008 rolled around, (pun intended) and construction was still yet to begin. All that had happened to this point was the complete destruction of the existing skate park, and a new ad hoc car park popped up. The drama continued to drag on.

Using my weekly editorials as a platform to show my personal dismay in the entire process, and subsequently getting nowhere, I just decided to ask. My first port of call was to contact Cr Cath Gilmour as she had answered previous queries of mine, and had a proven track record of actually getting to the bottom of said topics. Although Cath acknowledged that there were some 'grey' areas in regards to why another $80,000 was needed, this did spur her on to initiate a further fundraising push on behalf of the new skate park. Letters were then sent out to local businesses offering three levels of sponsorship as an attempt to raise the remaining cash needed to complete the bowl.

After all this, I was no closer to finding out why it was costing an extra $80k to complete the park. How did that happen? Who miscommunicated what? Why were we left with the impression that the council had fumbled this entire process? Why did the design need changed after it was found that the Gardens Management Plan has clauses in it that required changes to a plan that had already been approved?

This prompted me to send an email to the QLDC that bluntly asked the questions that I wanted answers for. This resulted in a call from Paul Wilson, the General Manager of Community Services for the QLDC. He set about answering the questions I'd asked in that particular email, and after a few minutes, the whole ordeal unravelled and became quite transparent. This is what I learned:

• The design of the skate park went out on a Tender, Design, Build process, with a predefined budget of $300,000
• Jason Parkes' design was successful and he won the tender
• From day one is was apparent the the bowl was located too close to the carparks, and concerns were raised about cars ending up in the bowl and spectator safety, and consequently, the design wouldn't have gained resource consent
• The design that Jason submitted could not be built within the allocated budget, and hence a further $80,000 was required
• Of the $100,000 already raised, 97% of that was raised by QLDC's Jan Maxwell, with only $2,000 being raised by the skate club itself Correction: Jan Maxwell confirmed that the impression given was wrong. In fact, the skateboarders trust fully contributed to the process and deserved recognition for this.
• QLDC can extract the land needed for the bowl from the Wolverine lease by start of March

Currently, construction of the skate park is underway, and this is a fantastic sign. Delays, budget blowouts, lengthy submission processes aside, the design of Queenstown's skate park looks amazing. Never before has there been a design like this in New Zealand, and once complete, Queenstown will have one of the best skate parks around. This will see us able to vie for national skate events such as the Bowl-a-rama that is hosted at Wellington's Waitangi Park.

The benefits of this skate park far out way any negatives. It also sends a sign to the Queenstown youth that the community as a whole takes them seriously and has the desire to get behind them. With that, those businesses that received the sponsorship letter, let's hope that you are able to contribute to what will be a true asset to the area. If you would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact Craig Strong, president of Wakatipu Skateboarders Inc on 021 946 816 or email, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it in regards to the skateboard park details. Councillor Cath Gilmour can be contacted on 442 2306 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , regarding how to take up this sponsorship opportunity.

The need for sponsorship to achieve this fantastic and much-needed facility is urgent. Earthworks would need to start early March to ensure the job can be completed before winter. The entire 1282 sq m skateboard park is hoped to be completed by June, when winter's onset stops concrete work, and the saving of yet more funds by better utilisation of men and machinery.

Donations can also be made online at Queenstown.com, and the details surrounding that can be found on the Queenstown.com Our Town page.