Angry residents opposed to a skate park proposed for Sydney's Rushcutters Bay are celebrating after the NSW Government placed an interim heritage order preventing its construction.

Key points: The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has moved to protect the park

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has moved to protect the park The interim heritage order will prevent construction of a youth recreation area, which includes skateboarding facilities

The interim heritage order will prevent construction of a youth recreation area, which includes skateboarding facilities Woollahra Council says it is happy to comply with any heritage planning issues

Woollahra Council, in the city's affluent eastern suburbs, had already faced threats of legal action over the proposal, which it described as a "skate plaza", aimed at eight to 14-year-old children.

The NSW Government's Office of Environment and Heritage issued the order for one year, on the basis that the park is likely to be of local or state heritage significance.

Resident Dixie Coulton said the order had stopped Woollahra Council in its tracks.

"It is a very significant park, and green grass and trees and playing fields should remain," she said.

"There shouldn't be a structure like this, which is totally inconsistent with the type of park it is.

"The skateboard park should go elsewhere."

The park is nestled between Sydney Harbour and the leafy suburbs of Darling Point and Paddington, where the median house price is approaching $2.5 million.

A drawing of the proposed skateboard park at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney's east. ( Supplied: Woollahra Council )

The skate park is part of Woollahra Council's proposal for a youth recreation facility designed to create social and outdoor activities for young residents and their families.

Local families are crying out for a place where kids can play basketball and ride their skateboards, council's technical services director, Tom O'Hanlon, told ABC Radio Sydney last week.

"We've met literally hundreds of people and had hundreds of submissions from people who are in favour," he said.

"We've got loads of families out there in the local area who just can't wait for this thing to be established, and they're asking when it is going to happen."

People use it 'as their backyard'

One issue that's caused controversy is the council's consultation and approval process for the recreation area.

It's been criticised as being approved by the council's finance committee "without proper public consultation", Ms Coulton says.

Woollahra Council ran a six-week public consultation including placing advertisements in the media, and the finance committee had full rights to approve it, a council spokeswoman said.

While council was not expecting the heritage order, it's no stranger to heritage planning issues, the spokeswoman said.

"Council will happily comply with planning requirements and the requirements of the Interim Heritage Order, which we understand requires Heritage Council approval," she said.

But residents opposed to the skate park and recreation area say legal action is still on the cards if the heritage order fails.

"It's simply not big enough to have a skate park," Ms Coulton said.

"People walk their dogs there, people play soccer there, it's a place to get away from things.

"It's a park in the middle of a major city, people from the local area use it as their backyard really."

A playground at Rushcutters Bay park in Sydney's east. ( Supplied: Woollahra Council )

Skateboarder Nigel Cameron was disappointed to hear about the heritage order placed on the park, saying the impact would be felt by the broader community.

As a skater for the last 20 years, Mr Cameron said he believed skate parks cater to the whole community.

"It directly affects my demographic and impacts the entire community, because young people need facilities that they feel comfortable in and families need somewhere to take their kids to express themselves and be active," he said.

"When you put a stop to projects like this it's a slap in the face, because they take years of work."