A project to revamp Sidmouth’s aging skate park into a high quality facility for all is moving forward following the appointment of a consultant.
Sidmouth Town Council is set to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds into the Manstone site to meet the needs of young people in the Sid Valley.
Russ Holbert, a director of Maverick Industries, gave a presentation on Monday to outline his company’s plans to make the park the ‘heart of the community’.
Users of all ages will be able to have their say during a public consultation to feed into the design.
Mr Holbert told the meeting: “This isn’t just about the riding community it’s about all the people around the site the local neighbourhood, the town council, the people who use the space other than the skateboarders, the people who walk by with their dogs. Everyone needs to benefit from this; it needs to be a positive contribution to the space up at Manstone.”
He also told members the facility would act as a ‘surrogate youth club’, be accessible for users young and old, and could help to curb anti-social behaviour.
He said: “They are an exciting place where people can meet up get fit, become more socially engaged and learn skill sets and be part of a project that gives them a positive outlook on something. They are not the holy grail [antisocial behaviour] but they go a long way.”
The Dorset based company have created hundreds of parks across the country and would carry out consultation, design, planning and building works.
The park and its features would be created out of a sprayed concrete to give users the best ride experience. The material would also be low maintenance and last a lifetime said Mr Holbert.
The town council will be applying for funding from local and national organisations to contribute towards the project.
Cllr Louise Cole said the skate park was a real priority for young people and that having a top quality facility could lead to more events, increase tourism and give families with young and teenage children something to do.
She said: “I think this is a real opportunity to do lots of different things in terms of being a very forward thinking council, meeting some of the challenges in the community surrounding anti social behaviour, meeting expectations for young people to actually prioritise their wants and desires there are lots of objectives that will be met within this project.
“I think it’s really exciting and its opportunity to do something to make a big song and dance about.”
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