Having lived in the Newcastle CBD for the past six years, I have watched the rapidly evolving local architectural landscape with fascination.
There have been some excellent examples of imaginative design in new repurposed buildings, such as the former David Jones.
In January 2021, the Herald ran a "best and worst buildings in Newcastle" competition. The taxation office on King Street came last.
But it has a new competitor in the architectural monstrosity stakes. It is the still incomplete skating facility being built on South Newcastle beach by the City of Newcastle (CN).
I have written about this ugly concrete construction before ('Re-elected council must stop wasteful ways', Opinion 8/12/21), and it is hard to believe this skate park is still not finished.
The project's cost and construction time have doubled, from $10 million in 2020 to an estimated $20 million by 2024. This has already assisted the demise of the initial building company, the Lloyd Group.
One of the problems is the inappropriate location, right on Newcastle beach, where storms and big swells smashed the site numerous times. After one of these weather events, I watched as an extensive section of pathway was jack-hammered up and rebuilt.
Ironically, skaters have shown where the new facility should have been. In the Foreshore Park near the railway shed, the large pond was drained in 2019 as a water-saving measure during the last drought. Skaters immediately started to use it, and 1600 signed a petition to keep it operating. This could be converted to a complete skate park at a fraction of the cost, similar to the unobtrusive, much cheaper one in Empire Park, opposite, but not on, Bar Beach.
However, CN will probably spend $20 million on the financial and aesthetic disaster at South Newcastle beach. Daracon, the new contractor, is on the job, but the project is still proceeding at a snail's pace.
Looking down on the project most mornings since it started, I have seen plenty of workers, but not a lot being built. Australians are worried about the country's plunging productivity, and on South Newcastle beach, I can see why.
This expensive local public works fiasco begs the question, "Why is this skate park the top infrastructure priority of CN?"
I could nominate at least one area of neglect that could have taken precedence: the city's dangerous footpaths. Having a physical disability, I always take my walking stick and tread very carefully in the Newcastle CBD. One wrong move, and I could end up with a broken ankle or worse.
There doesn't seem to be any work being done on some of the most hazardous sections of footpaths, and CN councillors tell me they are still waiting for a full briefing on the scope and cost of any planned path upgrades from council bureaucrats. What is the holdup?
While CN dithers, in the Sydney CBD where I worked a few years ago, they have systematically upgraded footpaths with a dark grey tile pavement. The work spread through the CBD at a reasonable pace during my time working there. It is not happening in Newcastle because CN's priorities are all wrong.
The $20million wasted on the skate park could have reconstructed many kilometres of Newcastle footpaths.
Such council waste and inefficiency have recently sharply driven up rates. My quarterly CN rates bill has just jumped 25 per cent.
I suppose council mismanagement and waste must be paid for somehow?
Previously, Newcastle had a ratepayers' association, which kept an eagle eye on council expenditure. It's time to start one again - I'll be the first to join. And remember, in September 2024, you have a vote in the local council election. Please use it in the interest of an efficient and effective city government that follows the people's priorities.
