Hilltops Council’s Engineering Delivery Manager Mark Crisp accepting the award on behalf of the Council and the community from IPWEA (NSW) Board Member Bill Woodcock.
Harden’s skate park has edged out some stiff competition to be named as one of the best facilities of its kind in New South Wales. Hilltops Council was recently presented the highly-regarded and sought-after ‘Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) Excellence Award’ at a ceremony in the Hunter Valley recognising local government and public works projects. The skate park at Newson Park was named as the winner of the category recognising excellence in design and/or construction of a local government project under $500,000.
The award for this project – which was started by the former Harden Council – is certainly one shared by the entire community, given the significant efforts of the Harden Skate Park Committee in raising funds, securing grants, scoping designs and generally helping guide the overall project. “Hilltops Council’s Engineering Delivery Manager Mark Crisp, along with Council staff who worked on the project should be extremely proud of this achievement, particularly considering the Council were up against Councils with much larger populations and staff numbers who were also vying for the award. Both Mark Crisp and Precision Skate Parks in Victoria worked tirelessly to ensure the project was a success
The award highlights the high level of inspiration, innovation and technical management involved in the Harden skate park’s development and construction. Planning began on the skate park five years ago, with construction commencing in May 2016. Plans for the project were drafted by skateboard design specialists, with builders specialising in skate parks utilised during construction.
The project’s aesthetics from the street, its all-age accessibility and its unique design were all features noted by the judging panel in making their decision. The project was undertaken with funds from Council, the Federal Government, corporate sponsors and public donations.
