THE Shellharbour community will be invited to have their say on where they want a skate park in the city's east.
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At last week's council meeting Shellharbour City councillors resolved to begin community consultation in 2015 to identify the best location.
The report identified a "shortfall" in skate facilities in the region for the 13,202 young people aged five to 18 years old in the Shellharbour local government area and 1140 living in Oak Flats.
Five potential sites were earmarked for the park including the land adjacent to Oak Flats Station on Pioneer Drive, a public reserve on New Lake Entrance Road, Oak Flats Swimming Pool on Moore Street and Panorama Oval along the Esplanade.
Harrison Park was put forward as a potential site in the Section 94 plan and delivery program for construction in 2016-17.
Damien Hill, 15, from Oak Flats said he would like to see a facility on Pioneer Drive.
"It's a big area and if it was there I'd go there before and after school everyday," he said.
"Usually I have to ride to the skate park in Shellharbour or catch the train, or I just ride around on the street. It'd be good to have somewhere close to home and school."
Plans for a skate park were also raised during consultation on the Oak Flats Town Centre Plan, where a consensus existed among business owners that a space for younger crowds to convene was greatly needed.
Connor Wood from Oak Flats High School said he would like to see it built near the school.
Over the next 12 months the council will engage with key stakeholders on their preferred location for a skate park that will accommodate a range of users including skateboarders, BMX riders and scooter riders.
Cr David Boyle welcomed the move and said he was glad to see it in the business paper after years of discussion. In determining a suitable site, the council would consider the condition of a site, access, visibility, available amenities, impact on existing facilities, distance from residences and maintenance.
Cr Peter Moran said he held concerns about the accessibility of the Harrison Park site.
"We were not informed about how children would access Harrison Park, given that they have to cross Lake Entrance Road and that it is at least a couple of kilometres from Oak Flats," he said.
"It's important that we continue this process of consultation and I will be urging the residents of Oak Flats to have their say."
Cr Helen Stewart said the council needed to be "mindful" of noise.
The council will also consider other sites raised during the consultation period. .
The park is estimated to cost more than $1 million, with 71 per cent funded through the council budget and section 94 funds and 29 per cent would come from developers.