Boongaree

Shoalhaven’s newest skate park and pump track officially opens on Friday 14 April at Boongaree, Berry. 

The new and improved facilities are the latest addition to the Boongaree recreation precinct that includes sports grounds, cricket nets and netball courts and the Rotary Nature Play Park and Learn to Ride facility. 

The official opening begins at 11 am, followed by a barbecue lunch, and free learn to skate classes and a skate jam session hosted by skate event company, Totem. 

The new Boongaree skate park and pump track is a vibrant recreational hub that has been designed with the community for the community.  It is a contemporary space for all ages to enjoy, to play, teach and learn, that caters for all abilities.

There was an overwhelming sentiment from the community for the new skate park to pay homage to the previous skate park. The ‘snake run’ standing out as the crowd favourite to replicate in the new design. Skaters will enjoy the new flowing snake run, kicker over hydrant, slappy kerb quarter, mini bowl, roller run and much more. The skate park and pump track have been designed and built to a technical standard suitable for competition events.  

The pump track has roller berms, spine transition, roller runs, multiple transition, and a dragon back, surrounded by specially designed Turf Co grass that provides minimal maintenance and ultimate coverage. 

 Construction of a dog park, carpark, reconciliation garden and upgrades to current sporting fields will commence in the near future. 

Totem skate workshop spots are limited, bookings are essential via Eventbrite.

Berry's highly anticipated skate park and pump track at Boongaree will be officially launched in April with an opening event.

The new skate park is now open for use, alongside the new cricket nets and netball courts. The pump track will remain closed for the next few weeks until all of the construction is complete.

The skate park and pump track have been designed to a technical standard suitable to host competitions and as a training venue for skateboarding and BMX riding.

With these extreme sports now part of the Olympics, this is a great venue for training future elite athletes.

A lot of fine detail went into designing, planning and building these facilities to make them functional and appealing to the eye.

One of these innovations is a new resilient, low maintenance turf that doesn’t require mowing installed around the pump track that will reduce maintenance costs and keep the area green all year round.

Boongaree stages 5 and 7 involves the redesign of the Junior and Senior Sporting Fields, parking (including long vehicle) as well as new footpaths, drainage, and irrigation. The design of the main sporting field and junior field is currently being developed. A key design challenge is to incorporate effective drainage for the fields that is compatible with the conditions at the site during and after rain days. The design activity is being finalised by SPORTENG and this is planned to be concluded in January 2023.

Council investigated fast-tracking 45 car spaces of Stage 5 parking, which was brought forward and completed in November 2022.

The design of the two fields and the ground drainage is currently being further developed from the initial design and is estimated to be completed in January 2023.

The proposed design includes:

• earthworks plan and establishment of a finished surface design model for the field
• stormwater and subsoil drainage for the field
• design of the new carparks and entry areas
• irrigation design for the field.

The sequence of construction activities will be the development of the main field and then followed by the adjacent car park. The last phase of construction is currently Stage 5, the junior field and adjacent car park area. The key factors that may impact the completion date of construction will be the availability of contractors and the frequency of rain days. Following community feedback, Council are investigating fast-tracking part of the car parking in Stage 5. This may allow car parking along North St to be brought forward, subject to ensuring the safety of the public and contractors is able to be maintained. Council will provide an update on staging and programming once this feasibility assessment has been undertaken and the correct technical personnel have provided comment.

If you have any enquiries in relation to this project, please do not hesitate to contact Anthony Meta (02) 4429 3676 or stay up to date on this project by subscribing to this Get Involved web page.

Construction of the new skate park and pump track commenced in June 2022 and is nearing completion. Construction is still underway and will continue until February / March 2023.

Please bear with us during this phase, as we work to put the finishing touches into place.

In the meantime, please follow all safety instructions in place at Boongaree and for your own safety, do not enter the construction site.

For more information, contact the Community Planning and Projects team on 1300 293 111 or email Council@Shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au.

To stay up to date on this project subscribe to this Get Involved webpage.

Shoalhaven City Council invested in the Boongaree Nature Play Park, with support from NSW Government, Berry Rotary and the Berry community, to reinvigorate the northern edge of the Berry township. After extensive community consultation, the Boongaree Masterplan was developed and subsequently adopted to outline the design concept and construction stages of Boongaree.

Since construction commenced, Council has received representation from the community about the need for additional parking spaces.

Upcoming Stages 5 and 7 of the Masterplan, once completed, will deliver an additional 196 parking spaces.

In response to the community representations Council has taken the following actions.

Stage 7 (stage 1B) - Boongaree Masterplan - senior sports fields and car parking

Council is now fast-tracking part of Stage 7 (now known as stage 1B) to construct 45 of those car parking spaces adjacent to the existing parking at the nature play area. This is anticipated to be completed by November 2022 subject to favourable weather.

Stage 5 - Boongaree Masterplan – junior sports oval and car parking

Council have been investigating opportunities to fast-track car parking along North Street. Investigations have identified that there is significant risk with delivering works from this stage as separate components. There is the potential for site levels to be out of alignment, compromising future stages of work, as well the potential for any fast-tracked works to be damaged by subsequent construction works. Other key considerations include construction access to the site, and public and contractor safety. Council will continue investigating if a permanent, fast-tracked solution can be achieved.

Stage 5 - Long Vehicle Parking

Long vehicle parking was adopted in the Masterplan and forms part of Stage 5. The location chosen was based on feedback from the community during the development of the Masterplan. Representations from the community cited concerns about safety. As a result, it was determined that a traffic movement study should be undertaken to understand the turning circle required for a long vehicle to enter this parking area. If this assessment determines that the access is compliant, the long vehicle parking will remain in this location and will be delivered in accordance with the adopted Masterplan. Should the assessment determine the proposal is not compliant, further investigations will be undertaken.

North Street parking, west of Alexandra Street, Berry

In addition to requests made about fast tracking stages 5 and 7, Council reconsidered the formalisation of 80 lineal metres along North Street, to the west of the Alexandra Street intersection as car parking. This proposal delivers around 32 additional parking spaces. This proposal was originally rejected in feedback from the community, but following recent community consultation it was determined that Council would progress to the detailed design stage for those 32 spaces.

At Council's Ordinary Meeting on 12 September 2022 (MIN22.581), it was RESOLVED:

That Council:

1. Receive the outcomes of the recent community consultation for information and further ongoing community consultation be held with respect to potential acceleration of the Stage 5 parking and the siting of long vehicle parking.

2. Progress to the development of construction ready designs and any necessary assessments for the proposed additional 90-degree car parking spaces along North Street, 80m west of Alexandra Street, Berry.

3. Progress to delivery of the additional car parking proposal as soon as possible.

4. Source funding for the additional car parking proposal, with consideration to an alteration to the Low-Cost Loan Initiative.

5. Undertake a Vehicle Turning Assessment for the entry to the proposed long vehicle parking location as per the adopted Master Plan.

6. Subject to the compliance with the Vehicle Turning Assessment proceed with the delivery of the long vehicle parking as part of Stage 5 of the adopted Master Plan.

7. Inform the community of the outcome of the Vehicle Turning Assessment and way forward.

8. Investigate opportunities to introduce appropriate safe passage measures at the intersection of North Street and Prince Alfred Street and prepare a future report to the Shoalhaven Traffic Committee.

Please be advised that a report on the additional parking at Boongaree is expected to be considered at the Council's  Ordinary meeting on 12 September 2022. The purpose of the report is to determine the way forward for the additional parking proposed on North Street, Berry.

You can access the report on Council’s Agendas and Minutes webpage.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm and will be held in the Council Chambers at Council’s Administration Building, Nowra. Members of the public are welcome to attend or can watch live streamed on Council's website.

If you would like to deputation regarding this matter, please read the Deputation FAQs on Council’s website and submit an online application form, or contact Council’s Governance Team on 1300 293 111.

Prior to making a request, please review the report as you will need to advise whether you are making a deputation for or against the report recommendations.

Council is doing a Community Safety Assessment in response to Community concerns.

Working collaboratively with Council, the Police are leading a site assessment. A major component of this assessment is Community involvement.

There will be two assessments, one in the daylight and one in the darkness.

We would like you to attend both sessions for continuity.

When: Friday, 5 August 2022

Where: Cnr North Street and Albany Street

Time: 4.30 - 6.30pm (daylight and darkness)

Please register your availability, through the Online Registration Form on this web page.

Council is encouraging visitors to Berry to participate in the July 2022 Longitudinal Study Survey which aims to identify the economic benefit that Boongaree will bring to the Berry Township.

The Boongaree area (previously known as Berry District Park) is being redeveloped to provide upgraded and new recreational facilities. Visitors are being surveyed at intervals over the duration of the project to produce data that can be used to identify economic impact. The development of Boongaree is an action in the Berry Strategic Plan designed to enhance commerce within the Township following the opening of the highway by-pass.

This survey will be completed in coordination with the Berry Chamber of Commerce.

The survey closes on Thursday, 4 August 2022.

Shoalhaven City Council is aware of the issues and community concerns regarding car parking at Boongaree, Berry.

Parking elements around such an important piece of infrastructure need to be considered in regard to the entire Boongaree project. As a result, additional measures are currently being investigated to address parking issues at Boongaree.

Taking into consideration the consultation that has already occurred for the Boongaree Master Plan, Council has decided to commence and re-open consultation with the community for proposed additional 90-degree car parking spaces along North Street, 80m west of Alexandra Street, Berry. The area impacted by the proposal is depicted in RED in the associated images.

Council has prepared an online survey to obtain feedback on the above proposal and future parking identified in the Master Plan, including the long vehicle parking site.

Please provide your feedback by completing the Online Survey on this webpage by Sunday, 10 July 2022.