Skate boarders, scooter riders and BMXers are celebrating the opening of Ruddington’s new skate park – funded by Rushcliffe Borough Council and supported by Skate Nottingham, Canvas Spaces and VIA East Midlands.
The £210,000 concrete structure at Rushcliffe Country Park has been praised as another landmark facility – not just for our village but for the whole of Nottinghamshire. It’s a ‘street course’ which has been designed to blend into a country park setting whilst also meeting the needs of future Olympic skateboarders and BMXers and being inclusive to beginner riders and the differently abled.
Yesterday (June 11th) representatives from each organisation (pictured below) gathered to open the skate park and test out the new features – with a ‘grand opening’ event planned later this summer when a further easing of COVID restrictions allows.
As previously reported, the new facility replaces the former wooden structure which was in need of refurbishment and had been closed on safety grounds. Instead of repairing it, the Council decided to develop a brand new facility alongside Skate Nottingham, science education charity Ignite! Futures and Nottingham Trent University.
In doing so they involved 110 young people in co-designing it, through a series of workshops and by work experience during the construction phase. These were attended by local 11 to 18-year-olds, as well as older skaters and BMXers, facilitated by academic experts in architecture, engineering and sports science and mentored by university students, all supported by a grant from UK Research and Innovation.
Construction was completed over 12 weeks in the winter and spring, just weeks before skateboarding features as an Olympic sport for the first time at this year’s games in Tokyo, with Great Britain to be represented by two young women skaters.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities and Climate Change Cllr Abby Brennan says: “This wonderful new site has benefited from a complete makeover with a new concrete structure and we’re delighted with the initial reaction from our partners in the project and skaters and BMXers alike. It will also enable regular users to develop their skills through planned coaching, mentoring and competitions and larger scale summer programmes to create a destination site for day visits from across the region. We hope the new facility is welcomed by skaters far and wide for years to come.”
Developed initially in December 2013, the Skate Park forms part of a larger amenity area within the park and is one of the most popular features in the area and is visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Chris Lawton from Skate Nottingham and Skateboard GB, the National Governing Body for skateboarding, says another great skating facility in Rushcliffe is the result of true partnership working from the project’s conception that allowed for the creation of a site that local skaters can now make their own.
“This skatepark is exciting because it was co-designed with users, with elements of work experiences and other training and learning” explains Chris. “We worked hard to ensure the user group represented women and girls, people from low-income households and both younger and older users. Nationally, the new skatepark at Rushcliffe will be an important case study for accessible and inclusive spaces as well as achieving lasting social and economic benefits locally.”
You can read more about Rushcliffe Country Park >>HERE<<.
