Kingsbridge skaters to get new park

You can see why they want a new one

Skaters in Kingsbridge could soon be getting a new area for their sport after years of campaigning.

When South Hams Council’s development management committee meets next Wednesday, one item for consideration is the town’s bold new skate park plans.

Last year, community group New Kingbridge Skatepark revealed concept drawings with contractor Wheelscape, showing new areas for skateboards, BMX and rollerblades, as well as a climbing wall and table tennis tables.

Now councillors will decide on the principle of the new facility going ahead, without going into the final details.

The current four-ramp skate park dates from 2010, and members of the planning committee will decide whether a replacement can go ahead on the same site without having to apply for new planning permission.

Officers say removing the old park and putting in a new concrete one does not need planning consent.

The site is off the Quay car park and alongside the town’s leisure centre. A public right of way would have to be diverted.

A crowdfunding campaign online has raised almost £40,000 for the skate park. Adam Sherring, who launched the crowdfunder, wrote: “Kingsbridge and its surrounding towns and villages desperately need a usable free-to-use wheeled sports facility. Designed to include skateboarding, scooters, BMX, roller blading and adapted wheelchairs, it caters for all those with a passion for wheeled devices.”

The current skate park has been described as ‘thrown together’ as well as being ‘substandard and ill-thought-out’.