Hereford skatepark has been developed in two stages - and a third phase is currently being planned


arrived at a weekly council meeting and gave a number of arguments for a skatepark in Hereford. Councillors were so impressed with the group that they agreed to set up a com- mittee to plan for the skatepark, which eventually turned into the WS4H charity. Within a few weeks, over 300 young people had contacted WS4H, whether to simply give support, or to get involved with the design process. Several peo- ple wrote to local papers, and soon the effort to get a skatepark began to get the support of an array of organisa- tions. The local police, for example, were then receiving on average of a complaint every two days about skateboarding, and so were keen for skateboarders to get a place of their own. Herefordshire City Council agreed to lease some land for 25 years for a ‘peppercorn’ fee. They also agreed to put £50,000 towards the building of the park.


W


heeled Sports 4 Hereford (WS4H) was formed when 50 young people


CHARITY DRIVES


HEREFORD SKATEPARK


tion, and stage three will see the existing park ringed with a new street section. Through collaboration, a design for stage one emerged and, eight weeks after construction began, Wheelscape had completed it. After the success of the fi rst stage, a


number of organisations agreed to give fi nancial support to the park. The Big Lottery Play Fund donated £50,000;


Crest Homes paid £55,000 through section 106 agreements; the Youth Opportunities fund donated another £55,000; the local police force gave £10,000. The park is now sponsored by six local businesses.


WS4H then contacted Wheelscape, a major skatepark design house and manufacturer. Their designers went and met the users, talked about what they wanted, and began to work on plans for the park together. WS4H decided to build the park in three stages: stage one would be a plaza style, stage two would add a transition sec-


Stage two was again designed collaboratively, and built over January and February 2010. Stage three (being planned) will be the fi nal addition. The example of Hereford, which was fi rst con- ceived in 2004, shows that getting a skatepark takes time, requires effort, but also that such a project, in the end, will be more than worth it.


skateparks get muddy, fi lled with stones, waterlogged; only if the users value the place – if it is what they want – are they going to spend time main- taining their park.


All this means is that only by collab- orating with users will local councils and builders produce a park that will be well used and properly looked after. The idea that young stakeholders are not only worth consulting, but valuable as long-term collaborators in skatepark projects is becoming more common, even typical, in the UK. However, Claire Freeman and Tamara Riordan, two academics working on skatepark stud- ies in New Zealand have claimed that authorities there have some way to go; young-people still “tend to be planned for, rather than planned with”.


ISSUE 1 2012 © cybertrek 2011


INTERNATIONAL CONVERSATION That is not to say the UK leads in every respect. Australia is a world- leader in the quality of very large outdoor, free-to-use, unsupervised skateparks. Newly-built US parks tend to charge an entrance fee and are supervised in some way, though the country leads the way in terms of number and scale of skateparks. In terms of radical design, Scandinavian countries blaze trails, with a key innovation being to incorpo- rate street-style skateparks – shin-high ledges, rails, and ‘manual pads’ – into public green spaces (this is far less dangerous that you might suspect). Skatepark users have been looking


across continents for inspiration for decades; the internet has meant that


designs, funding strategies, or tips on how to deal with authorities are almost instantly shared. Planning authori- ties from across the world should learn from this, and share knowledge on methods to develop successful skatepark projects. Arguably, there is a need for internet-based information hubs to share knowledge across coun- cils, regions, countries and continents. The more dynamically that local and central government, social enterprises, and business respond to the desires of this group of largely young sports enthusiasts, the sooner can the many benefi ts that come from skateparks be realised by the users, as well as the wider community. ●


Joseph Haines is a freelance journalist Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 59


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