Design consultation for Port Fairy playground and skate park begins

Community-based advisory group members will meet with Moyne Shire Council and consultants Convic in mid-October, 2023 to share their ideas for the new co-located playground and skate park at Russell Clark Reserve.

They will also visit the town's two primary schools to get suggestions from young users about what makes a great play space and what they want included.

Council and consultants will also meet with nearby residents and Port Fairy parkrun representatives whose weekly five-kilometre accredited route takes in the reserve.

Moyne Shire has committed $1.7million to the project and is supportive of community fundraising to help boost the budget. Construction is expected to begin mid-2024.

Councillors adopted the Russell Clark Reserve site at the September 26, 2023 meeting and directed that a community advisory group be involved in all design consultation.

Advisory group member and Port Fairy resident Lisa Ryan has been advocating for a new playground with other mums and said it was exciting the project had reached the design consultation stage.

She said her three-year-old son Murphy "hasn't had a decent playground in our town for his whole life" and the new space was much needed.

Mrs Ryan said playgrounds were "crucial" to a child's development and play "sets them up for life with everything else they have to learn and experience".

"We obviously know playgrounds are super important for fun and games but also for child development so it's really important for us as parents to give him opportunities to develop and socialise with different kids," Mrs Ryan said.

She wants to see equipment that offered positive risk such as climbing frames, more swings and for the design to complement the area's natural environment.

Mrs Ryan said the playground and skatepark's co-location allowed parents with multiple children to watch them enjoy both areas at the same time.

She said the skate park would be good for older children to socialise. and there was "nothing really for that age group in town".

"It's not just benefiting local residents," she said. "It will benefit tourists as well."

She said as part of the consultation process she would raise questions about the minimal parking, made worse during peak holiday times with campers' cars parked along James Street, and the lack of toilet facilities.

"Hopefully we can get things moving sooner rather than later and make something really good for the town to utilise."

Mayor Karen Foster said the consultation phase was an exciting step forward on the "long-awaited project" and she couldn't wait to hear what ideas the young people had.

"I'm also really pleased that families are excited about the site chosen," Cr Foster said. "It will mean an all-inclusive space where families can gather and watch their children play or skate."

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