Skateboarding in Nottingham is proving a big hit. With a new design and hope for the new skate spot underneath Broadmarsh, on April 2 a public opening event for the new 'skateboard friendly' public space off Sussex Street in the city centre, will take place.
With hundreds of skaters using the new park on a daily basis, the skating spot is one of the first of its kind in Europe. With an ever-changing graffiti wall, the skatepark was a collaboration between Nottingham City Council, Skate Nottingham and Skateboard GB - who have donated £5,000 to the new facility in the city.
Skate Nottingham volunteers worked through December alongside Betongpark and the city’s main contractors, Thomas Bow, to complete the space, and have since brought it to life with a free programme of regular workshops, skate sessions and events funded by a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund. Tram Line Spot, the ‘skate friendly’ section of the space, progressed through a 2-year participatory design programme engaging Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham College students along with more than 300 local skateboarders and other skatepark users.
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Over the last 12 months, Skate Nottingham fundraised to make these designs a reality. On Sunday 2 April, celebrating the new park, open free to the public, you can expect: an opening jam at the skate space, co-hosted with international brand DC Shoes and local online skateshop Supereight, with £1,000 in cash prizes for the best tricks alongside giveaways and a chance to skate with DC’s sponsored team members Josh Arnott, Sam Pulley, Harrison Woolgar and Dave Snaddon.
The celebration will run from 1pm until 5pm and will be preceded by a free beginners’ coached skateboard session (ages 7+) from 10.30am until 12noon, with helmets and skateboards available on loan.
James Hope-Gill, Chief Executive of Skateboard GB, said, “This project has been really important for British skateboarding, enabling more people to see and participate in the sport, and also for Nottingham to provide an example of how cities can be regenerated. The skateable space at Sussex Street, being so centrally located, helps cities think about active and green travel, and how skateboarding – as a portable, healthy mode of micro-mobility – enables people to both get around more easily whilst being custodians of inner-city spaces, all whilst providing more opportunities to Skate More, Skate Better for potential future world-class skaters.”
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