Lake Macquarie City Council has taken out a coveted national award for its hugely popular Rathmines Youth Hub.
The venue, which opened in 2024 and includes a skate park, pump track, climbing wall and half-court, won the ‘Playspace over $500,000’ category at the Parks and Leisure Australia National Awards for Excellence.
The accolade follows a win for the facility at the State awards earlier this year.
Lake Macquarie Mayor, Adam Shultz said the award was recognition not just of the youth hub’s quality and wide appeal, but of how it reflected the wishes and needs of the surrounding community.
“Throughout the development phase, we listened intently to what the community wanted,” he said.
“This site delivered the goods. Take a look not just at the number of people using it on a daily basis, but the spread of ages and demographics, and it’s clear this has been a really successful project that serves the community greatly.”
Funding for the $2.9 million youth hub included a total of $1.5 million from the NSW Government’s ‘Resources for Regions’ and ‘Places to Play’ programs, with Council providing the remaining $1.4 million through developer contributions.
It features designs and layouts inspired by the site’s former use as a RAAF seaplane base, a 1000sqm skate park – the largest in Lake Macquarie, a 120m pump track, half basketball court, bouldering wall, footpath, car park and landscaping.
