Skatepark in South East London

Lolz

@ skully - it's a shame it has come to that, hackney skate park is already on the way to be completed sometime next year.

That's good to hear, I haven;t heard about it, and quite soon on the heels of the Mile End one. Where's it going to be?

clissold park, 600 sq metres i think, the only issue was hackney was going to use a kids playground builder but after a bit of campaining by a friend it's now purpose built by a well known skate park builder.

i'm hoping to take pics of the progress, time permitting.

Aha, that's great, and a good location, that park is unbelieveably well used by kids.

What a load of bollocks. They would not complain about a football pitch with a load of mini pistinators mincing around.

You get more polite young people at skate parks than a lot of other facilities. Typical bull shit pigeonholing.

Can't be there be there as I'm away that day.

Oi! There won't be any 'mincing around' from my kids!

Oi! There won't be any 'mincing around' from my kids!

Really Timmy? Are you being serious? You don't think we could do with it round there?

Hmmm, what *do *I really think? I used to be a skater so I am fully in favour of the provision of facilities. However, I am now 34 and I own a flat directly opposite the proposed development. Whilst I still love the clack-slap of a well-landed kick-flip, I am concerned about the potential noise nuisance that a skatepark might bring. It should be noted that it is a conservation area. As such, everyone has old sash windows which are not good at keeping out noise. I think kids who skate are usually nice kids who have a healthy, social hobby, so I have no concerns about trouble as a result.

Telegraph Hill Park is a beautiful and well-used park which already has a good-sized children's playground in it. I would support the development of a skatepark in the area but I would like to see more options tabled. My feeling is that the people behind this have gone, "We want a skatepark and we want it here," without looking at other options.

Bear in mind this is just the opinion of one grouchy old cunt.

Timmy that's a reasoned answer. Thanks. Will you be at the meeting? I'd strongly encourage it so you hear the arguments laid out. I'm not certain how far away the campagin has looked for alternative sites. I'm not certain that they should have to though ... I guess I support the building of skateparks wherever they may be, on principle as it were, which is probably a bit of a stupid position.

The skatepark was originally planned for the upper park on telegraph hill. The skatepark was then moved to the current position in the lower park after the first proposal met opposition from local residents.

This is true, dt. But I gather that the meeting tomorrow is an attempt to try to address new opposition to the new site behind the basketball cage.

Is this going to be anywhere near London?

No, not in South West London, Marky.

Phew, we already have one there

Its always about the noise - i too am all for skateparks being built, but they need to be built by the right people in the right places. Hopefully something can be worked out here.

I tried to get a skate park built in Bishops park in Fulham a long time ago

Right people: this looks good, so far. Possibly by the Side Effects of Urethane guys.

skully: you're too old for tricks dude.

I was never any good at tricks, even when I wasn't old.

i'm only kidding, i reckon you could still shred it. anyway. good luck.

This is awesome, if I'm around tomorrow night I'm up for popping down.

i used to live round there, it seems to be an odd choice of location as it's wholly residential and both the lower and upper parks are quite small. what about the already under used and quite rough new cross park at the bottom of the street with the venue?

I'd suggest referencing the skateparks in Belair Park in West Dulwich and Peckham Rye Park. These were implemented pre global financial meltdown and both were publically welcomed by local parents or residents. There was no indication that there was any impact at all on housing prices and it was generally considered that their presence had improved their respective communities. With regards to the Belair Park, local residents had commented that despite their fears, they were generally pleased with the users of the park, who were mostly courteous and little disruptive use out of hours.

I also recall reading in Sidewalk Surfer that a couple of families of promising young skaters had moved closer to Playstation after it had opened, therefore demonstrating that a skatepark can increase demand for housing and therefore local prices.

ooh. i think my friend's hubby is working on the proposal. [/pointless]

I'd suggest referencing the skateparks in Belair Park in West Dulwich and Peckham Rye Park. These were implemented pre global financial meltdown and both were publically welcomed by local parents or residents. There was no indication that there was any impact at all on housing prices and it was generally considered that their presence had improved their respective communities. With regards to the Belair Park, local residents had commented that despite their fears, they were generally pleased with the users of the park, who were mostly courteous and little disruptive use out of hours.

I also recall reading in Sidewalk Surfer that a couple of families of promising young skaters had moved closer to Playstation after it had opened, therefore demonstrating that a skatepark can increase demand for housing and therefore local prices.

Great post TSK.

Hope to see you there el squire and all others who might be able to attend.

Call this a bump. I have nothing to say really.

It's odd really. If you go to Stockwell, it's quite stereotypical of a skatepark, lots of kids, lots of noise, the occaisional frank exchange of views.

When I was skating at Peckham Rye and Belair, it was always nice and relaxed. Usually a mix of teenagers and adults up into their thirties. In fact when the Peckham Park was initially suggested as an option in a community meeting, Stockwell was cited as a reason it shouldn't happen. I raised Belair as an example. I was able to point out that people were already travelling from the Peckham Rye area to Belair, demonstrating a level of demand and interest for the facility and I think that helped to get it through.

Definitely worth adding that where skatepark facilities are installed there is usually a marked downturn in skater related anti-social behaviour and damage to other public facilities. This is part of the reason why Southbank elected to tolerate skating and later appreciated the contribution that skaters made to the local culture, taking an otherwise dismal space, frequented by rough sleepers and drug users, and turned it into something more vibrant. Also a key reason why the freerunners adopted the space as well.