Ballito skate park revamp set back by vandalism
Names were carved into the original concrete slab and it now has to be redone.
Vandals damaged the Hilary Drive skate park in Ballito recently requiring the relaying of sections of the concrete slab into the bowl.
The original skate bowl structure is being revamped as part of a community initiative spearheaded by Re/Max Dolphin Realtors.
The ‘Spark up the Parks‘ campaign to bring local parks back to life was launched in May last year, and through community fundraising efforts enough money was raised to get the first phase of the project underway.
This will see the overhaul of the original skate bowl structure with one small extension bowl.
A play area for children complete with a jungle gym is also included.
“The builder at the skate park threw the first slab of concrete into the bowl and arrived the next day to find that people had etched their names into the concrete ruining that section of slab which now has to be redone.
“This is a community project and we can ill afford to waste money having to redo sections,” said Broker owner of Re/Max Dolphin Kim Peacock.
“We are imploring the community to keep their eyes open and contribute to the change we want to see in our community and that park in particular by reporting any behaviour not appropriate for a park or vandalism.
“The security companies have all pledged their support and will be patrolling regularly,” she said.
Lockdown has stopped Re/ Max from hosting any more much needed fundraisers but the project is forging ahead regardless.
Phase 1 sees R200 000 invested in the community parks.
Phase 2 could see the Hilary Drive skate park evolve into an Olympic standard skate park.
Re/Max have started a donations page on Backabuddy where the Ballito community can donate anything from as little as R10.
Log onto backabuddy.co.za under the “Spark up the Park” campaign.
