Construction Of Long-Contested Rushcutters Bay Skate Park Sparks Fresh Concern From Locals

Construction has begun on Woollahra Council’s long-contested skate park at Rushcutters Bay Park, reviving a battle that has divided residents, heritage advocates and councillors for almost a decade.

The youth recreation facility — which will include a skate and scooter area, half basketball court and associated infrastructure — has survived years of community opposition, council debates, heritage assessments and planning approvals.

While supporters argue the Eastern Suburbs needs more recreation facilities for young people, opponents say the project is fundamentally incompatible with Rushcutters Bay Park, one of Sydney’s most significant heritage-listed parks.

Among them is local resident and barrister Dixie Coulton, who has been involved in the campaign against the project since 2017. Coulton was part of the broader ‘Save Rushcutters Bay’ community effort that helped secure State Heritage Register protection for the park – a campaign that aimed to shut down the option of building the skate park and other facilities there.

Coulton argues the development threatens the very values that earned the park heritage protection, including its rare open green space, historic landscape design, century-old fig trees and Aboriginal cultural significance.

“It is a rare example of open green space in the inner city of Sydney,” Coulton said.

The park’s heritage significance also includes rows of Moreton Bay and Port Jackson fig trees planted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as its association with the Gadigal people, who used the area which now houses the park as a main encampment, before many were relocated to La Perouse by the colonial government.

Despite the heritage listing being secured, Woollahra Council procured approval for the skate park and recreation facility from the NSW Heritage Council to go ahead anyway in late 2025.

Now, with excavation works underway, Coulton says residents are shocked.

“We had no idea. We didn’t know until the gates started going up,” Coulton told City Hub, saying that she’s seen at least three of the enormous, century-old fig trees affected by the works already.

“They’re digging into the heritage-listed roots of these old trees, and that is going to – our arborists say – cause damage. They’ve already cut off the heritage-listed trees’ big limbs to make way for it.”

Coulton also told this masthead that many have concerns about the Aboriginal consultation process undertaken — in particular, consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders was rushed and failed to properly explore alternatives.

“They only gave them a few weeks,” she explained. “They were given no choices. It was ultimately a skateboard rink or nothing.”

‘It’s not about being a NIMBY’

As construction progresses, supporters of the project have continued to argue opponents are engaging in classic NIMBYism by resisting infrastructure for young people.

Coulton wholeheartedly rejects that characterisation. For many residents, she said, the dispute is about preserving important green space and a rare piece of Sydney’s history, rather than opposing skate parks altogether.

“It is heritage-listed open green space and heritage-listed trees, because these things are important for a society, and particularly an inner-city society,” Coulton said. “You can walk into that park now and it’s green.”

She said the issue was not whether young people deserve recreational facilities, but whether this particular park is the appropriate spot.

Coulton argues alternative locations were never properly explored.

“We’re not against skateboard rinks. This is just the most inappropriate place to put it,” she said.

“It’s not about being a NIMBY. You cannot put a concrete block on green space, and that is what this park was heritage listed for.”

Woollahra Council has maintained the project underwent extensive consultation and heritage assessment before receiving approval.

A spokesperson for the Council gave City Hub the following statement:

“In October 2025, the Heritage Council of NSW approved Council’s application for the proposed Rushcutters Bay Park Youth Recreation Area, having considered all submissions opposed to the proposal.

“The Heritage Council’s resolution, Letter of Approval and comprehensive project information can be found on Council’s Your Say community consultation page: https://yoursay.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/youthrecarea.

“Through many years of public consultation since the project’s inception, during which it was welcomed by a majority of community members, our community was updated regarding its progress and informed of the approval and upcoming construction via the Your Say site. Please note that anyone interested in receiving updates on the project has been able to receive these automatically by signing up. Information regarding approval and construction was also published in the Wentworth Courier.

“Please also note that the approved design incorporates specific measures to protect existing tree canopy and root systems. Excavation works undertaken this week have been carried out under arboricultural oversight. The Project Arborist has attended site inspections and provided direction to the contractor in relation to tree protection requirements. Any works in proximity to trees, including minor root pruning where necessary, have been assessed and undertaken in accordance with the approved Arboricultural Report and project requirements.”