SUTHERLAND Shire mayor Kent Johns has hit out at "disrespectful" young skateboarders who used the new sun lounges at Cronulla beach as ramps.
"This kind of behaviour makes it very hard to justify building more skate parks in the shire when such disrespect is shown for new facilities put there for the enjoyment of everyone," Cr Johns said.
His comments followed a comment on the Leader's website (see panel) and a separate report to police and the council.
Cr Johns said a member of the public notified authorities after seeing four skateboarders using the sun lounges as ramps on Sunday.
"Unfortunately even though it is just a handful of people, they end up spoiling it for everyone," he said.
"This comes at a time when a development application has just been submitted for a new skate park at Greenhills.
"You could understand some ratepayers being unhappy about money being spent on a skate park when funds will have to be found to fix damage done to Esplanade seats."
Cr Johns said the sun lounges and seats were having timber tops fitted to them.
"However, if the damage continues they may be rendered too dangerous for the public to use," he said.
The mayor said preventing damage to park facilities and street furniture from skateboarding was an ongoing challenge.
"In some cases damage is caused by people trying to remove skate guards so furniture can be used as ramps," he said.
"It's extremely disappointing to see that some young people care so little about our area.
"The new seating was only finished a little over two weeks ago and we have had some fantastic feedback from people who are enjoying it."
Incidents can be reported to the council on 9710 0333, or via http://sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/ , or the Report It app.
Are skate parks the answer to this sort of behaviour?