Nestled on the banks of Lake Ginninderra is a man-made BMX dirt ramp trail set to be demolished by ACT government excavators.
A series of take-off and landing dirt ramps, some more than 2 metres in height, have been zoned off with "investigation" tapes.
President of the FACT BMX club, Tyson Jones-Peni, built the ramps in 2021 after the existing BMX dirt ramps in Stromlo Forest Park were demolished by the ACT government.
He's now been threatened with fines and a referral to the ACT Magistrate's Court by Transport Canberra and City Services.
The "wheeled sports" of Canberra are at odds with the government. Years of neglect and funding refusals, like upgrades to the Tuggeranong Skate Park by Minister for Sport Yvette Berry, has left the community with no choice but to take matters into their own hands.
Built on an area of unused land, Mr Jones-Peni believes it's an asset for the community to have a BMX dirt-ramp site.
Freestyle BMX cycling is an Olympic sport and Canberra has the likes of Caroline Buchanan representing Australia on the international stage.
In support of Mr Jones-Peni, two-time Olympian Ms Buchanan said his "dirt jumps were greatly needed for the community and for elite athletes like myself and for the next generation of kids".
Mr Jones-Peni also trains young BMX riders and his own students have been forced to move interstate to train at their facilities.
"I've been training 15-year-old Sarah Nicki, a leading female athlete for the Australian freestyle Olympic team and she had to move to Queensland because there are no facilities for her to train in Canberra," he said.
There are dirt hump trails at Majura Pines but Mr Jones-Peni says they're designed for mountain bikes and are not suitable for BMX freestyle riding.
Tireless in his effort to ensure a public BMX facility was built for the Canberra public, Mr Jones-Peni has been campaigning for purpose built BMX dirt bike ramps since 2011.
His grand vision for the bustling Canberra BMX community is the ACT Jam 2023. In a proposal to Stromlo Forest Park, he wants to build an elite competition and beginners dirt jump ramps for an international BMX event.
"ACT Jam can bring the booming discipline of freestyle BMX into Stromlo Forest Park by hosting the most prominent BMX event in Australia, on a dirt course built specifically for ACT Jam 2023," Mr Jones-Peni said.
According to Mr Jones-Peni, the event will provide Stromlo Forest Park worldwide recognition and increased tourism for Canberra.
But his enthusiasm has been met with disapproval. His man-made dirt ramp trail in Belconnen was issued a notice of remediation by the Department of Transport and City Services.
"The construction of BMX bike jumps on a parcel of land within Block 28, Section 149, Belconnen, was not authorised under any work approval," an ACT compliance officer said.
"You as the person responsible for the damage, have been issued a repair damage direction."
The repair damage direction includes deconstructing the ramps, filled back into the open excavated ground and levelled.
Mr Jones-Peni says he won't comply with the orders, as the notice for the work was given in such a short period of time.
"The time frame they gave me was unreasonable. They gave me 30 days - you know it took a year to build it," Mr Jones-Peni said.
"To put it all back into the ground by hand is a pretty tall task and then to bring mulch in that didn't exist beforehand."
"I should probably bring all the rubbish that was there beforehand as well - but it is what it is."
Transport Canberra and City Services have since extended their notice of remediation after questions posed to them by The Canberra Times.
There are kids everywhere building ramps across the ACT, Mr Jones-Peni says. Regardless of the outcome of his man-made jump ramps in Belconnen, he wants the government to find a solution because the community will continue to build their own ramps on unused land.
"All I want to see out of it is for kids to be able to go somewhere that is the equivalent of the national standard," he said.
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