Stockton recreational drawcard ‘opens’

City of Newcastle will open a major $2 million playground and skate plaza attraction on the Stockton foreshore on Friday, just in time for the Easter long weekend.

The South Stockton Active Hub next to the ferry terminal will activate Griffith Park by offering families and recreational skaters a place to relax and enjoy the harbour surrounds.

The facility runs in two parallel lengths of around 40m, with the skate plaza on one side and the playground on the other flanking BBQ facilities and a shelter in the middle. Local skaters have already given the thumbs up by breaking through construction fences before their scheduled removal tomorrow

"This is a great development for Stockton that will give youngsters and families the perfect option to enjoy on the northern side of the harbour. Set against a backdrop of the city skyline on a site perfect for Instagram, the facility will also help boost Stockton’s profile as a place to visit,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said after cutting a ribbon today.

“I look forward to coming back in a couple of weeks after the school holidays to celebrate the Active Hub with some of the kids from St Peter’s Primary School who first wrote to us in 2016 to invite us to see their plans and models for the park.”

From Friday morning, some of those kids will be enjoying the new playground’s flying foxes, slides, climbing nets and swings, while skaters relish handrails, angled ledges, an A-frame kicker, zig zag ledge and a half pipe.

Merewether skateboarder George Richards said he was impressed with the new facility.

“It’s great to have a street-style skate plaza,” he said. “I don’t think there is another one in the area, and there are some really unique aspects of the park which makes it interesting.”

The Active Hub was one continuous length of around 100m in the original design but was split to be sit closer the harbour after residents of Hunter Street Stockton expressed their concerns.

The facility has been part funded by a $450,000 Newcastle Port Community Contribution Fund and Section 94 contributions by both City of Newcastle and Port Stephens.