Ashton Park to be home to new skate park

2nd, February 2009 by

Ashton Park will be the site for a new skate park

Ashton Park will be the site for a new skate park

The Preston City Council Central Area Forum revealed on Thursday 29th January 2009 that Ashton Park has been chosen as the location for a brand new skate park.

This is good news for Preston’s skater community. The decision was taken on the potential location after consultation with local schools, youth groups and other key local groups. The Council is now looking into funding and may apply to the Big Lottery Fund again after the successful bid for £80,000 for a Moor Park kids play area.

  • http://cskoyles.blogspot.com/ Chris Skoyles

    Great news for the skaters. Has there been any reaction from residents on this proposal?

    I did a lot of work looking at the impact of skate facilities on local communities, would be happy to pass the resulting film on to anyone who might be interested.

  • Ed Walker

    I’m going to try and get some reaction from residents – will shoot an email to local councillor.

    Have dropped you an email about that film you did, might be able to show the film on the blog :)

    Thanks for your comment Chris.

  • http://tartybikes.co.uk Stan

    This is great news! I ride a bit of BMX and have been wanting a Park in Preston for ages. Ashton park is only across the road from me too :D

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  • james

    hay i think this idea is fantastic and a skatepark will bring some life back into the skateboarders such as myself however i have my douts there has been many skateparks that have have a clame to be made in the area and frankly did not appear or look like appearing also lookoing at the park now there appears to be very little work(none) done if there is no reply to my comment form someone who can provide proff this will come about or there is still nothing at the park i WILL be writeing to a paper and making sure that a park is made ,i do have contacts to make this happen and if anyone would like to share ideas contact me at claydon19@hotmail.com :D

  • Andy

    This is great news, to be honest it’s amazing that Preston has had no real skatepark facility’s up till now considering it’s size and population( i’m deliberately ignoring the facility on Ribbleton park).

    Will there be an opportunity to consult with the council on this, with regards the design and the contractors used, as I’m sure there are many people in the Preston area who would be happy to contribute their time and experience to ensure the best results are achieved.

    There’s an ever growing list of council provided skate parks in the UK of varying quality, some rather poor and some excellent, I think there’s a lot to be learned from this in terms of what design elements work and those that don’t, as well as show casing the quality of the work carried out by the various contractors.

  • Jon Webster

    If this does go ahead it has to be properly designed. I regularly travel around the country to different skateparks. I feel the Plaza in Stoke is the best free skatepark in the country.

    • http://josephstashko.com/ Joseph Stashko

      It’s true Jon. Unfortunately a lot of skatepark building very rarely involves people who actually know what’s practical, i.e. the skateboarders and users of the park. I believe Ben Grove from Sidewalk magazine has been asked to consult on a few skateparks in the past, which is surely the best way to go.

  • Si

    If this goes ahead it will need input from all ages and all disciplines. I have been an inline skater for almost 14 years now and have travelled around the UK visiting various skateparks and spots. The problem I come accross most is that when skateparks are designed, local councils believe that its little 9 year old Johnny that knows what goes into making a skatepark and then persue the design based on his ideas. While this is all well and good, the new skate facility might get used for a summer but interest soon wears off because the skatepark doesnt flow and doesnt leave you to your own imagination for creating new lines. It needs input from the 3 main disciplines (Board, inline and BMX) because a park that is predominantly built for boarders leaves it hard for inliners and BMXers to be creative which is the biggest downfall on most UK parks. Yes boarding has the biggest following but I believe if there is going to be big £££ spent on a park then it should be built for the whole of the extreme sports. While it is possible to adapt to a skateboard orientated park, inliners and BMXers soon get board and will be back on tnhe streets, waxing curbs, damaging ledges and benches etc.

    Just a thought!!
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