The newly refurbished skate park in Bath’s Royal Victoria Park will open on Monday 21st September, following months of redevelopment work to offer new facilities to users.
Skaters, BMX and scooter riders can now hone their skills over a series of concrete bowls sunk into the ground, including one of the only ‘vert’ bowls in the country.
The park also offers a selection of new ‘street’ features for those riders keen to practice other skills.
This exciting and challenging new space is aimed to stretch the skills of riders, even the more experienced ones.
The upgrade of the skate park is part of a number of improvements totalling almost £500,000 made by Bath & North East Somerset Council to Royal Victoria Park.
Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “The old skate park was over 20 years old and the main ramps had reached the end of their lives and needed to be replaced.
“The new skate park has been built following consultation with young people, children and their parents and has been designed to accommodate all small-wheeled sports.
“As the park has an excellent large bowl design as well as a street section, it has potential to be a site for future professional competition events and could even attract riders from around the world.”
The design was developed working with a panel of local skaters and BMX riders.
One of the panel members, Ben, said: “This will be one of the best skate parks in the area. The design builds on the main elements of the previous skate park, but brings them right up to date and adds a whole lot more.
“With a mixture of deep bowls and smaller features, there will be something for everyone. It’s going to be a real asset to the local scene, and I can’t wait to ride it.”
To celebrate the opening, a skatejam session is being planned for Saturday 26th September – more details will be revealed soon.
Victoria Park attracts many thousands of visitors every year, features Botanical Gardens, ponds, floral and historical features as well as one of the biggest children’s play areas in the South West.