A master plan to spend $65 million on the Tomaree Sports Complex has a glaring omission, according to former councillor Sally Dover: An indoor skate park and youth drop in centre.
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But if you think Mrs Dover is late to the party, think again.
The idea for the facility was hatched in the same year that Brittany Spears sang Baby, One More Time, while the Red Hot Chilli Peppers released Scar Tissue. The year was 1999.
“We poured the slab for the Christian Outreach Centre and all these kids wanted to skate on it,” Mrs Dover said.
“So we coordinated these Friday night youth events and before we knew it there was 450 kids on the skate list.”
Out of these events grew Tomaree Youth Community Action incorporated. While Nelson Bay Skate Park came into being the committee shared a much bigger vision. It had plans drawn up for an indoor skate park and a mezzanine to host activities like multimedia tuition.
In June 2010, after much lobbying, the council passed a resolution to investigate the part-allocation of Lot 530, next to the tennis courts, to the construction of such a facility.
“You can imagine my amazement when, after all these years of trying to negotiate a youth centre at Salamander, I found the new plan of management for the Tomaree Sports Complex had a hockey field suggested for the site,” Mrs Dover, TYCA’s public officer, said.
“It’s the perfect spot for it outside Tomaree High School and across the road from St Phillip’s.”
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Mrs Dover said times had changed a lot in the past 20 years.
“People might say ‘what about the PCYC?’ Well, the high school isn’t there any more, it’s just not convenient for these students to access,” she said.
“We need something here at Salamander Bay, that’s why we had the plans for an all-weather skate park drawn up. It would put Port Stephens on the national circuit for skate events and help drive tourism.”
TYCA points to the council’s Port Stephens Youth Strategy 2010-2018 to support their case.
While there’s The Deck in Raymond Terrace and the Tilligerry Drop in Centre, the Tomaree Peninsula doesn’t have such a purpose-built centre. Almost half of the youths surveyed for the strategy lived on the Tomaree Peninsula.
TYCA said it has found support from Port Stephens Suicide Support Network, Real Futures, COPSY and CDAT.
“A youth centre on the Tomaree Peninsula is a priority, even if it is a mid to long term proposition,” TYCA president Charlie Elias said.
“Obviously we want a designated youth centre but a temporary facility would be welcome in something like an empty shed.”
Mrs Dover addressed Port Stephens Council during public access at last Tuesday night’s meeting.
