Work begins on Sittingbourne Skatepark expected to open this summer.

Local young people’s dreams of having a purpose-built space to skate are almost a reality, as contractors begin work on a new multi-use skatepark in Sittingbourne.

The brand new facility, which is being built next to the Mill Way Retail Park, has been designed in consultation with local young people, and will create a 570m2 area for urban sports in the town.

The new £240,000 park will feature rails, grind banks, jump box, stair set and a rotate platform ditch bowl.

This skatepark has been designed to cater for all disciplines, ages and abilities to create a safe and flowing skatepark with multiple lines and areas with inspirational development.

The site will also include seating, bike racks and landscaping.
  
Construction work is being carried out by Gravity Skateparks – a specialist designing and engineering firm that has built more than 150 parks across the UK. The firm were appointed to design and build the skatepark by the council after a competitive tender, which included young people being consulted on the proposed design.

The park will be managed and maintained by Brogdale CIC, who hope to use the park for events, and to provide training and enterprise opportunities for local young people.

To mark the work starting, representatives from Swale Borough Council, Brogdale CIC and the Skatepark Steering Group, visited the site. Cllr Nigel Kay, deputy cabinet member for finance and performance, Cllr Sarah Aldridge, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, Cllr Ghlin Whelan and Cllr Mike Whiting, who have been involved with the project also attended.


Cllr Sarah Aldridge, cabinet member health and wellbeing at the council, said:

“It’s great to see work beginning to provide local young people – and some of the older ones – with new purpose-built facilities to have fun, get active and practice their skills.

“This project has been driven by them – from raising funds, to helping to agree the designs – which will help us to make sure it’s meeting their needs, and will be valued by the users for years to come.”

Rebecca O’Neill, Brogdale CIC said:

“After a lot of hard work by young people and a dedicated steering group, the skatepark is now a reality. The Mill skatepark will provide a great place for young people to meet, demonstrate their skills or learn new ones. We are excited and planning a launch event and want to hear from young people what they want and how to be involved. They can follow the build progress through the Mill social media page www.mill.org.uk"
Work to create the park is expected to be complete by July 2019.