Skate Nottingham

Skateboarding and nottingham’S development

Skate Nottingham, July 2016

Contents 1. Introduction to Skate Nottingham ...... 1 2. The Case for Developing Skateboarding in Nottingham ...... 4 2.1 Indicators of Need and Potential Impact in Nottingham City and St Ann’s Ward ...... 10 2.2 Aims and Objectives for Skate Nottingham ...... 12 3. Findings from the King Edward Park User Survey ...... 14 3.1 Demographic Profile of Responses ...... 14 3.2 Skateboarding and Active Lifestyles ...... 15 3.3 Public Skateparks and User Preferences for the King Edward Park Facility ...... 17 4. Design Ideas for King Edward Park ...... 20

Skate Nottingham, July 2016

Skate Nottingham

1. Introduction to Skate Nottingham

As one of the fastest growing activities for young people globally and almost certain to be included for the first time in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, skateboarding has the potential to contribute positively to Nottingham’s development. Although once dominated by young males, skateboarding is increasingly inter-generational and also increasingly popular with women and girls, particularly in developing countries - for example, young girls make up a large share of beneficiaries of the Skateistan projects (the ‘sport for development’ NGO that engages young people in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa, teaching more than 1,200 children aged between 5 and 18 a week, 40% of which are girls).1 Skateboarding encourages an active lifestyle. Of the skateboarders in Nottingham and the East Midlands who responded to our user survey for King Edward Park, 53% skated between 2 and 3 times every week and 36% skated more than 4 times a week. It is also something that people engage with throughout their active lives: 38% of our survey respondents had skated for between 6 and 10 years, 18% between 11 and 15 years, 9% between 16 and 20 and 7% more than 20 years. When correlated with the age of the respondents, most had been skateboarding for more than half their lives.2

Skateboarding is demanding, requiring and teaching balance, coordination, perseverance and mental and physical resilience. Because it is fundamentally an individualist activity with strong social and non- competitive characteristics, it is appealing to those who are not attracted to team sports or more rigidly organised activities. As the East Midlands has one of the lowest rates of participation in sport out of the nine English regions (at 34.8% of adults participating at least once a week compared to 38.7% in the South East and 37.4% in London),3 the growing popularity of skateboarding is an opportunity to increase participation and to address the challenges of ill-health associated with increasingly sedentary childhood and adult home and working lives.

There is no right or wrong way to skateboard, with professional skaters (many of whom have more social media followers than the multi-national brands who sponsor them) varying from performance athletes, capable of incredible physical feats, to those who interact with the architecture around them in a more creative, even dance-like way. The aesthetic and technical aspects of capturing and documenting skateboarding mean that skaters frequently achieve a high level of mastery in photography, videography, art, design and fashion. Internationally, famous skateboarders include film directors Spike Jonze (who won an Oscar for his film ‘Her’) and Harmony Korine, artists Ed Templeton and Mark Gonzales, and writers and academics such as Kyle Beachy, Scott Bourne, Professor Ocean Howell and Professor Iain Borden. Skateboarders are behind hugely successful contemporary fashion labels such as Supreme and Palace, have launched award winning Not-for-Profit ventures such as Skateistan and SkatePal as well as the Long Live Southbank campaign (which won the 2014 Change Opinion award for Engagement Campaign of the Year). Skateboarding has been prioritised for investment by Nike and Adidas, and is one of only seven sports for which Nike makes bespoke equipment for (the Nike skateboarding division sits alongside its running, football, basketball, tennis, golf, and American football divisions - the company has exclusively targeted its activity to these priority areas).

1 For more information, see: http://skateistan.org/content/our-story 2 For more information on the King Edward Park User Survey, including sample size, methodology and detailed overview of responses, please see Section 3 of this report. 3 Sport England, 2016. ‘Active People Survey’, April 2015-March 2016. URL: https://www.sportengland.org/research/who-plays-sport/local-picture/

Skate Nottingham

There is a strong case for Nottingham to be regarded as one of the homes of UK skateboarding, with past iconic skatespots such as the old Broadmarsh brick banks and the original Old Market Square appearing in international magazines and videos between the 1970s and early 2000s. In the 1990s, the editor and chief photographer of the UK’s longest lasting magazine, Sidewalk Surfer, were residents in the city, and two of the UK’s largest distributors and mail order companies had stores in Nottingham (Rollersnakes and HSC) alongside the 30+ year independent store Non Stop. Every weekend, several hundred skateboarders could be seen in the city centre, and Rock City hosted two large scale indoor ‘skate festival’ events in 1996 and 1997. Although skating grew in world- and nationwide popularity from 2000 (with the release of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater game on the Playstation), enforcement of a bye law and subsequent redevelopment of the Old Market Square and the closure of both Rollersnakes and HSC saw skateboarding in Nottingham decline for several years, whilst it flourished in other UK and European cities. A number of these cities benefited from ‘skate tourism’, notably Barcelona, but also Berlin, Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Cologne, Madrid, Milan and London. Transworld estimate that the number of skateboarders in the UK increased from 35,000 in 1996 to as many as 300,000 in 2001 (supporting $10 million sales annually). More recent estimates are not available, but with the entry of Nike/Converse, Adidas and New Balance from the mid-2000s, both the number of participants and annual sales value are likely to be significantly higher. It has been estimated that 1 in 10 male teenagers own a skateboard, and in the USA skateboarding is the second most participated in sport for those under 18.

Skate Nottingham

Figure 1: Covers of Sidewalk magazine in the 1990s-early 2000s featuring Nottingham skateboarders (clockwise from top left) Alan Rushbrooke (now UK Key Accounts Representative for Vans footwear); Alan ‘Harry’ Cuthbertson; Jon Weatherall; and Scott Underdown (who now works at Nottingham’s independent skate retailer ‘42’).

In recent years, skateboarding in Nottingham has experienced a resurgence, and is now stronger than it has been than at any time in the past. Local skateboarders have graced the covers of national and international magazines and have filmed video parts that have been critically acclaimed in the US and Europe (most recently, Nottingham Professional skateboarder Will Golding with a video part for Tony Hawk’s Ride Channel). Nottingham skateboarder Alex Halford has won a string of recent UK and European championships, including the 2015 Boardmasters, the 2015 and 2016 War of the Thistles and the 2015 UK Mini Ramp Championships, and Will Golding was one of only 35 skaters worldwide to be invited to the finals of the Red Bull ‘Hold the Line’ competition at the Royal Albert Hall. At a grassroots level, skateboarding in Nottingham provides the context for a wide variety of ongoing art, film, social enterprise and photography projects, including Varial Magazine, an independent photo magazine showcasing East Midlands skate photography, and The Splinter Cell, a woodworking company that produces high-specification bespoke furniture and ornaments from recycled skateboard decks.

To build on this activity and ensure that the community is sustained for future generations, we formed Skate Nottingham under a small charity constitution in October 2015, with objectives to:

 Establish a positive working relationship with the relevant Local Authorities in order to contribute to the design, consultation, activation (including events, skate schools, etc.) and maintenance of the estate of public skate parks in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire;  To change the perception of skateboarding in Nottingham, promoting it as a healthy and culturally rich activity that can contribute to the city’s development and active and creative

Skate Nottingham

life (for example, in Sheffield, a skate demo and competition was part of the 2016 #theoutdoorcity programme of events);  Organise events and social activities and apply for funding for projects to ‘scale-up’ skateboarding in Nottingham, to promote the city as a national and global destination; and  Identify opportunities for co-operative or shared ventures, providing advice and support for skate-related start-ups and small companies.

The design and consultation for the proposed skate facility in King Edward Park, Sneinton, is our first opportunity to start a positive dialogue with Nottingham City Council. To support this process, this report has three substantive sections:

 A contextual evidence base, drawing on recent academic and policy literature and official statistics, on the positive role of skateboarding in urban development (Section 2);  A summary of a user survey undertaken to inform the options for development of King Edward Park, also providing important demographic and active lifestyle information to build on the preceding section (Section 3); and  A portfolio of ideas and designs from skate architecture from around the world to form the basis of a subsequent design of King Edward Park (Section 4).

2. The Case for Developing Skateboarding in Nottingham

With constrained public funding, UK cities increasingly need to look at new ways to attract skilled people, increase enterprise and investment and support excluded communities, including building on and nurturing often quasi-economic creative and cultural activities.

Nottingham was hit relatively hard by the recession that started in the UK in 2008, with employment falling more than in many similar sized cities. In 2011, the rate of employment fell to the lowest of the eight English Core Cities (the group of larger cities outside London and the South East). Although the city has since recovered relatively strongly, structural weaknesses, including a higher than average proportion of residents employed in low skill, low paid activities and the out-migration of skilled young people (particularly graduates), mean that Nottingham is vulnerable to future external shocks. Nottingham continues to have the lowest graduate retention rate of the Core Cities, with only 28% of graduates from the two Nottingham universities staying in the city to work or to undertake further study six months after completing their courses. The proportion retained in Manchester is almost double that of Nottingham.4 In its Growth Plan, Nottingham City Council have identified several policies to address these challenges, including building on the creative and digital sectors, particularly focussed around the Creative Quarter, and encouraging entrepreneurship - including support for young entrepreneurs. Nottingham is also keen to build on its key ‘assets’, which include creative infrastructure such as the Nottingham Contemporary, New Art Exchange and the Broadway Cinema and the burgeoning music, visual and performing arts scenes (including several BAFTA winning actors such as Samantha Morton and Vicky McClure), sporting assets such as Trent Bridge, the Nottingham Tennis Centre and the Motorpoint Ice Arena, and civic and educational assets such as the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and New College Nottingham.

4 Lawton, C. and Blackley, N., 2016. ‘The Great Nottingham Debate 2016: Full Report’, on behalf of the Nottingham Post and Nottingham Business School.

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The success and long-term sustainability of these assets are dependent on the positive interaction between publically and commercially funded support networks and institutions and grass-roots activity. Much of the latter relies on quasi-economic activity (such as ‘bedroom entrepreneurship’), volunteering and leisure pursuits. The creative and cultural economy is difficult to quantify, particularly because so much of the activity occurs in the free time of enthusiasts, with only a relatively small proportion of activity stemming from full-time employment. A baseline study for the Creative Quarter and the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (D2N2 LEP) found that although only 3% of employment in the LEP area was in the creative and cultural sectors, this represented a small proportion of the total impact of the creative economy – with a large share of creative businesses being micro-enterprises operated from home or falling below the thresholds for VAT and PAYE. These activities may not be the individual’s main source of income, but contribute significantly to the area’s economy and richness of its cultural offer.5

Since at least the 1990s, skateboarding has been one of these areas of rich creative activity in Nottingham, attracting several generations of young people to the city and playing a significant role in retaining a high proportion whilst providing the context for related cultural and entrepreneurial projects. American urban theorist Richard Florida, whose ideas have contributed significantly to urban and local economic development strategies across the developed world, advocated the role of the ‘creative class’ as the key drivers of development in post-industrial cities. These “people in design, education, arts, music and entertainment, whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or creative content” (Florida, 2002, p. 8)6 are attracted to a city not by traditional inward investment tools (business rate and other tax relief, commercial properties, etc.) but by cultural and lifestyle amenities. Florida emphasises the link between local clusters of creative activity, counter culture, and highly-skilled creative workers (who he terms “high bohemians”) in those urban areas that also exhibit higher levels of economic development – for example San Francisco following the ‘tech boom’. Florida theorises that this ‘creative class’ contributes to a dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative urban environment that, as well as enhancing the experience of city living, attracts more creative people and inward investment from firms hoping to attract knowledge workers.

The kind of urban amenities that attract creatives is changing, with professionals in Generations X and Y being increasingly drawn to individual sports and participative cultural activities rather than spectating team sports or more passive interaction with the high-arts (classical music, theatre and ballet). In response to this generational change in tastes, the Inquirer suggested that urban planners should “think skateboarding, that is, before baseball stadiums” (cited in Howell, 2005, p. 38). Not least because both multi-nationals and Small-to-Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) report the availability of skilled labour as a key reason in their locational decisions, Florida observed strong correlations with the growth of high-technology industries and the prevalence of indicators in his ‘Bohemian Index’ (a series of measures that attempt to quantify the presence of the ‘creative class’ and the amenities valued by them). These ideas underpin Local Authority investment in ‘creative quarters’, where publically funded facilities and infrastructure aspire to kick-start private sector creative and cultural investment, fostering an exciting, bohemian feel to the city (typified by a mix of independent shops and bars clustered around creative anchor institutions such as galleries or arts cinemas), retaining graduates and attracting students, visitors and tourists, and further creative enterprises.

5 Oxborrow, L., Elijah, A., and Lawton, C., 2014. ‘Creative and Digital D2N2: Strategic Action Plan for the Creative and Digital Industries in D2N2’, on behalf of the D2N2 LEP and the Nottingham Creative Quarter. 6 Richard Florida, 2002. ‘The Rise of the Creative Class: And How its’ Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life.’

Skate Nottingham

Assistant Professor of History and Architectural History at the University of Oregon and former professional skateboarder Ocean Howell, in his ‘Creative Class and the gentrifying city’, identifies skateboarders as a group of potential Floridian ‘high bohemians’ that contribute increasingly to city- based creative enterprise and civic identity.7 Skate Nottingham’s trustees include several alumni of the University of Nottingham and NTU, as well as current students and staff. Skateboarding played an important part in attracting them to the city – and has since been a factor in them staying, to invest their skills and income in businesses, property and in starting families.

Like other creatives, skateboarders start small entrepreneurial and creative projects, contribute to an image of a youthful and vibrant city, and utilise otherwise underutilised spaces. On this last point, Howell sets out a timeline for the John F Kennedy Plaza in Philadelphia, better known as Love Park, which – following the reduction in welfare spending associated with ‘Reaganomics’ in the 1980s – had become a home for rough sleepers and substance abusers, meaning that the families and lunching office workers for whom the space had originally been designed avoided the area. With the popularity of street skateboarding in the 1990s, Love Park became an accidental international mecca due to its open surfaces and configurations of ledges and steps. As a consequence of this new usage, the plaza was no longer perceived as dangerous and was reclaimed by other users who would not only feel safe, but would watch the free spectacle of international level skateboarding. On the back of the reputation of Love Park and some of the professional skateboarders that made Philadelphia their home, the city was successful in hosting both the 2001 and 2002 ESPN X-Games, which generated an estimated $80 million revenue. Unfortunately, influential parties in Philadelphia City Hall, including the Mayor’s office, continued to view skateboarding as a nuisance, associating it with the vagrancy that the skaters had inadvertently displaced from Love Park, and enforced a no-skateboarding ban and redeveloped the plaza to deter skating. ESPN discontinued its relationship with Philadelphia and the banning of skateboarders from Love Park resulted in a return of the original more problematic occupants and subsequent under-utilisation of the space by families and office workers. Richard Florida, Edmund Bacon (the original advocate of Love Park when Director of the Planning Commission from 1949), local academics and 11 of the 17 City Council Members strongly objected to the anti- skateboard policies which they saw, in the words of the Inquirer, as a rejection of “Philadelphia’s will to thrive” (Howell, p. 37).

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have also had a problematic relationship with skateboarding, if on a much smaller scale, despite the city being recognised by skateboarders as an international destination for more than 20 years. A bye-law, introduced in 2000, prohibited skateboarding in areas across the city centre. This was lampooned as “quirky” and “out-of-date” by the Nottingham Post in a 2008 article and was identified by Councillor Eunice Campbell as one of a number of historic bye- laws that had not been enforced for some time.8 More recently, a succession of skateparks have been built across Nottinghamshire County with limited user consultation or specialist input, leading to Lady Bay (West Bridgford, Rushcliffe – now in a very poor state of repair), Edwinstowe and Rainworth being under-utilised by skateboarders and BMXers and instead becoming expensive (and potentially dangerous) play areas for very young children. This unfortunately has detracted from the wider area’s excellent estate of public skateparks, including Clifton (within the Nottingham City Unitary Authority boundary), Long Eaton (in Derbyshire, neighbouring the Greater Nottingham area), and Hucknall – all built and designed by reputable skatepark specialists Maverick Industries and Freestyle and all well

7 Ocean Howell, 2005. ‘The “Creative Class” and the Gentrifying City: Skateboarding in Philadelphia’s Love Park’, in ‘The Journal of Architectural Education’, pp. 33-42. 8 Jon Robinson, Nottingham Poster, January 19, 2008. ‘Post Reporter Goes Law Breaking!’ URL: http://www.nottinghampost.com/post-reporter-goes-law-breaking/story-12271927-detail/story.html

Skate Nottingham

used by skateboarders of all abilities. The city continues to lack a significant sized and high quality facility within walking distance from the centre (but with good, and well used but relatively small facilities at Maple Street - Hyson Green, and King George V Recreation Ground – Carlton). The feasibility study published by Nottingham City Council for the King Edward Park, Sneinton, development (NCC, 2014), suggests that a somewhat conflicted perceptions of skateboarding persist. Skateboarders are associated with anti-social behaviour and even vagrancy, whilst at the same time the activity is recognised as being positive, creative and important in encouraging active life-styles, particularly in neighbourhoods with high childhood obesity and other indicators of ill-health:

“Despite it being non-violent, skateboarders, when considered in the public space, are regularly grouped with the ‘unwanted’ in society, people such as the homeless, prostitutes and drug dealers who no architect wants loiters in the fringes of their buildings.” (p.17)

But: “… we believe this scheme would fill all aspirations and act as a controlled hub for other diversionary activity. It provides not only a physical outlet, but also creative inspiration…” (p. 17).9

It is our hope that, through engaging positively with relevant Local Authorities, businesses and other stakeholders, that we can move perceptions more firmly towards the latter quote.

In contrast with the experience of Philadelphia, the case study of Malmö illustrates how relationships could be developed and the beneficial economic and social outcomes that can be achieved for the local area. The city of Malmö, in southern Sweden, has a similar sized population to Nottingham and is also the economic and cultural centre of its region. Like Nottingham, Malmö was significantly affected by de-industrialisation in the 1970s and 80s, losing ship-building as its major employer, and going into a period of population decline in the 1990s following the Swedish financial crisis. However, Malmö has since become an international best-practice case study for economic development and urban design, and has a new university alongside burgeoning creative and science/R&D sectors and a young, ethnically diverse population. Malmö originally had none of the assets attractive to skateboarding compared to cities like Philadelphia or even Nottingham, yet is now an international destination for ‘skate tourism’, is home to one of the world’s leading independent brands (Polar) and hosts several world class events each year, including Malmö Ultra Bowl and the international final of the Vans Pro Skate Park Series, attracting 1,000s of visitors to a city-wide festival.10 In a recent seminar presentation, Gustav Svanborg Eden, Skateboarding Coordinator for the City of Malmö (2016), described the sequence of events in which Malmö has “gone from being a city that’s not very popular for skating to being a global destination for skateboarding” and the case for why Local Authorities should support skateboarding (and why skateboarding communities should strive to work positively with their Local Authority):11

 On the face of it, Malmö doesn’t have the ideal conditions for a skate destination (especially when compared to cities in California or Barcelona): the weather is often poor, and the architecture is not ideal (rough brick and cobblestone surfaces). Also the relationship between the City Council and the skateboarders had not always been progressive, with skateboarding initially being seen as “something noisy that young people did to cause damage - essentially a nuisance.”  Central to Malmö’s story is the not-for-profit organisation Bryggeriet, who run the indoor skatepark, have the contract to build and maintain all the outdoor parks in the city, and work

9 Nottingham City Council, 2014. ‘Joint Young People Skateboard Plaza Consultation.’ 10 For more information on the Vans Pro Skate Park Series Final: http://www.bryggeriet.org/2016/02/19/vans- pro-skate-park-series-final-in-malmo 11 Gustav Svanborg Eden, Skate Malmö/City of Malmö, 2016: https://vimeo.com/167716104

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with Malmö City Council to ‘activate’ these facilities through events through the spring and summer. ‘Skate Malmö’ is a brand created to “communicate Malmö as a skate city” and is operated as a partnership between the City Council and Bryggeriet.  The Bryggeriet organisation started in the early 1990s after local skateboarders applied for funding for a national Swedish ‘free time club’ project. Membership increased rapidly, which raised awareness of demand with the Council. The club were initially given access to a classroom in an abandoned school, where they built a ramp. As the number of members grew even more, the relationship with the Council became more productive. When a local brewery moved location, a large factory area was re-designated as a youth centre, which the club developed into a skatepark – establishing Bryggeriet as the biggest indoor park in Europe at the time. The organisation started hosting international events, which increased its capacity. Bryggeriet used office space above the factory to run short courses with the new Malmö University. By attending the courses themselves, Bryggeriet staff developed the project management skills to build large concrete parks.  Redevelopment of the old ship building area, which had been completely empty/under- utilised, enabled Bryggeriet to work with the City Council in a proposal to develop a ‘destination activity’, which became the huge Stapelbäddsparken facility that was developed with a team from Portland Oregon who were famous for large transitioned parks and DIY projects. In this, the City Council recognised the importance of user expertise to build a facility of this scale. The success of the Stapelbäddsparken development drew Quicksilver to relocate their Bowlriders European Cup to Malmö in 2006.  To successfully deliver an event of this size, the skaters at Bryggeriet had to partner more closely with the City Events Department. Quicksilver Bowlriders went on for 3 years, after which Quicksilver pulled out due to the Global Financial Crisis. However, sufficient civic capacity had been created for Malmö City Council to take over. They provided a budget to “put Malmo on the map, and help develop a relationship with the skaters for other projects” along with an international reputation generated from hosting an event of this scale and profile. This became the Malmö Ultrabowl, in which skateboarders from all over the world compete each summer, including Nottingham skateboarders Alex Halford and Nick Hanson.  A skateboarding programme was established within the Council’s Streets & Parks Department, with events funded by the Events Department. The programme worked across a number of fields: events; public skateparks; and with the DIY scene and the installation of skateable architecture in appropriate places – particularly in order to ‘activate’ under-utilised public realm.  The latter area may be the most controversial from a town planning perspective, and Svanborg Eden emphasises that Malmö City does not encourage or permit skating across all public realm. It is encouraged where appropriate (and discouraged or prevented through careful design where inappropriate, for example near residences, business premises, or busy pedestrian areas). As most Western cities are challenged by ill health due to sedentary lifestyles – both at work and in leisure time – alongside urban spaces that become ‘no go’ areas due to sparse utilisation, attracting rough sleepers and street drinkers, carefully considered encouragement of skateboarding and other outdoor pursuits can be used to “activate dead spaces.” This is possible when decision makers accept that skateboarders don’t set out to cause damage; they set out to skateboard. In appropriate areas, negative associations can be designed out, as follows: o Young people in groups can be intimidating to older residents. As skateboarding is inter-generational, groups can be encouraged to behave in self-regulating ways (older

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skateboarders ensuring that younger skaters pick up litter, be aware and respectful towards pedestrians, etc.); o Skateboarding is only noisy on uneven surfaces – with smooth surfaces, noise is much reduced; o It is only a nuisance when proximate to other user groups, such as neat residential or commercial spaces. In a big open space, such as an under-utilised civic plaza (Värnhem is an example illustrated in Section 4) the noise is dissipated; o Damage only occurs with the wrong materials (for example, wooden or sandstone benches or ledges). Granite blocks are very durable, and won’t wear down even through many years of skateboarding; and o Relationships with other users of the urban space requires negotiation – this is achieved through placing skateable street furniture in the right place. Enforcement shouldn’t be necessary in a well-designed public realm. Svanborg Eden cites the example of ‘skate stoppers’ (fittings bolted onto street furniture to prevent skateboarders) as architects admitting that they have done their job badly.  Malmö’s growing reputation as a ‘skate destination’, and the tourism revenue, inward investment and increase in active lifestyles this brought about, caused the City Council to fundamentally reconsider how they saw skating. Rather than regarding it as a nuisance, they became interested in reclassifying certain parts of the city to allow and actively encourage its pursuit (whilst careful planning would discourage it in areas that were not appropriate). This “whole package” of big events, world class public parks and skateable zones within the city meant that Malmö “has become a destination city for the next generation of skaters.” The Bryggeriet organisation have gone one step further, in harnessing the associated interests of young skateboarders to establish a school within the Bryggeriet site. This is a mainstream school that teaches a standard curriculum, but uses skateboarding as a motivator for young people from all over Scandinavia who have had difficulties engaging in mainstream education.  The most recent stage in Malmö’s story is securing the final for the Vans global skatepark series this summer, which will take place in a new purpose built park as a consequence of the City’s conditions for hosting the event – that is should have a lasting impact on society and culture in Malmö. This includes female participation, in which Bryggeriet are a world leader in encouraging. All events in Malmö try to promote skateboarding for women and girls, resulting in summer skate courses having higher female than male take-up.  On reflection, Svanborg Eden argues that Malmö has benefited from its progressive relationship with skateboarding because it is an activity that, “picks up where a lot of other activities don’t attract young people anymore.” He observes how skateboarding is a way for young people to socialise in increasingly disconnected times. It supports other interests (the act of skateboarding may include someone to photograph it, film it and write about it), and is intergenerational. At Stapelbäddsparken, teenagers mix with people in their mid-50s, which doesn’t happen in more rigidly structured, competitive team sports. This intergenerational appeal is a key reason for the International Olympics Committee being so keen to secure skateboarding in the 2020 Games, due to declining audience numbers amongst younger viewers (60% of US television audiences of recent Games were over 50) – skateboarding is seen as a way of attracting the interest of a new generation to the Olympic Games.

Although Malmö is not directly comparable to Nottingham, there are some key learning points. These include: the activation of under-utilised space - for example, Sneinton Market Plaza is little used when the market or events are not taking place, and attracts street drinkers and people behaving anti- socially when skateboarders are not using the spaces; the success in Malmö of using skateboarding to

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increase participation in sport, including for women and girls; and the need to deliver events and activities in and around skate facilities to ensure the space is ‘activated’ throughout the year – where partnership working between community and voluntary groups and the Local Authority is important.

2.1 Indicators of Need and Potential Impact in Nottingham City and St Ann’s Ward

Chart 1 shows that Nottingham is one of the youngest cities in the UK, with 21% of the working age population in the 18-24 age group. This is influenced by the significant student population (with more than 60,000 students at NTU and the University of Nottingham), although Nottingham also has a younger age profile in many neighbourhoods in which students are not resident in significant numbers.

Chart 1: Residents aged 18-24 as a % of total working age population (16-64), 2014

Source: ONS Crown Copyright, 2016. ‘Mid Year Population Estimates, 2014’, from NOMIS [accessed 31st May, 2016].

However, in terms of public health, Nottingham compares poorly to the national average on several key indicators. This is notable because one would expect areas with younger populations to perform significantly above the national average on health indicators, given both average health and physical activity decline with age.

Public Health England estimate that 52.4% of adults in Nottingham City are physically active (achieving at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week), compared to 56% in England. For children and young people, recent data also identifies areas for concern: 23.3% of children in Year 6 are classified as obese, which is significantly worse than the average for England (19.1%); whilst levels of teenage pregnancy, GCSE attainment and smoking at time of delivery are also worse than the England average.12

The King Edward Park site, designated for the proposed skate plaza, is in the St Ann’s Ward (2011 Census Ward) of Nottingham Unitary Authority. Chart 2 illustrates the age profile of the ward for the

12 Public Health England, 2015. ‘Health Profile 2015: Nottingham Unitary Authority’.

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16,291 residents aged 16 and over estimated at the time of the last Census. The chart shows that St Ann’s has a significantly younger than average age profile, with 11% of the 16+ population aged 16-19 (compared to 9% in Nottingham as a whole and 6% in England and Wales), 14% aged 20-21 (compared to 9% in Nottingham and 3% nationally) and 11% aged 22-24 (compared to 8%in Nottingham and 5% nationally). Conversely, the proportion of older residents is significantly lower than average, particularly those aged 65 and over, who account for 10% of the 16+ population in St Ann’s, half the proportion (20%) in England and Wales.

Chart 2: Residents by age (%, 16+ population), 2011 Census

0 16 to 20 to 22 to 25 to 30 to 35 to 40 to 45 to 50 to 55 to 60 to 65 and 19 21 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 over

E36000375 : St Ann's Nottingham England and Wales

Source: ONS Crown Copyright, ‘2011 Census’, from NOMIS [accessed 24th July, 2016].

Not only does the markedly younger age profile of St Ann’s ward suggest that a skate facility may be well placed, but local labour market participation suggests a need for interventions that can have a positive impact on health, self-confidence and motivation. According to the 2011 Census, the rate of employment (the proportion of working age residents in some form of paid work) is very significantly lower than average, at only 46.3% in St Ann’s, compared to 56.5% in Nottingham as a whole and 71% in England and Wales. The rate of unemployment was more than double the national average, at 19.2%, compared to 13.6% in Nottingham and 7.6% nationally in 2011.

The rate of economic inactivity (the proportion of residents who were neither employed nor actively seeking work, and thus not meeting the criteria to be classified as unemployed) was 42.7%, almost double the national average of 23.2% (and 34.6% in Nottingham). Full-time students make up a large share of the inactivity rate, accounting for 26.1% (compared to 17.6% in Nottingham and 6.6% nationally). However, long term sick or disabled residents are also over-represented in St Ann’s, with those who are economically inactive for this reason accounting for 6.9% of the working age population, compared to 5.9% in Nottingham and 4.6% nationally.

Also according to the 2011 Census, the St Ann’s ward had high proportions of residents with very low levels of education. For example, 19.8% of working age residents had no qualifications at all, compared to 18.7% in Nottingham and 15% nationally.

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Finally, in terms of out of work benefit claimant rates, the latest data (for June 2016) indicates that 4.2% of the working age population of St Ann’s were claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA), compared to 3.1% in Nottingham as a whole and 1.7% nationally.13

2.2 Aims and Objectives for Skate Nottingham

We believe that a high quality facility for skateboarding and associated pursuits can engage a broad range of age groups and can help address these challenges, especially if the facility is activated through events, tuition and support. The development of a positive working relationship between the skateboarding community, the Local Authority and other stakeholders could facilitate this. Participation in skateboarding in Nottingham is now healthier than it’s been for many years, with local skateboarders across several generations supporting two shops in the Nottingham city centre (the independent retailer 42 plus Element/Two Seasons), an independent photo magazine, several small clothing and board brands, and a wide range of small creative enterprises closely related to local skate culture. Barriers and risks to be addressed by Skate Nottingham and its partners include:

 The closure of the large indoor park, ‘Flo’, in early 2014, months after hosting the UK championships in the autumn of 2013. This has since been re-opened as a social enterprise, and is maintaining good levels of usage, hosting several recent major events, including the 2016 Vans Shop Riot. However, the period of closure experienced by Flo demonstrates the need for year-long activation of the space, especially through the dry summer months (when indoor parks are less utilised), including expansion of skate classes for children and parents, tuition and coaching, and female skate sessions. In the case of King Edward Park, if events and activities were not delivered, the facility may not achieve its potential to engage with local residents and increase participation and other positive outcomes;  The succession of poorly designed, and thus under-used, new parks across Nottinghamshire County (or rebuilt existing parks), including Lady Bay, Rainworth, Edwinstowe and Arnold. Where young people are engaged in design and consultation, but the end product does not meet expectations, future engagement is likely to be difficult (and no amount of activation events will support sustained use of a poorly designed and built facility);  The possibility of bye law enforcement in and around the Sneinton Market plaza– an area that has had a significant role in renewing participation in street skating in Nottingham;  The medium-term need for maintenance and repair of the existing estate of high quality public skateparks in and around Nottingham (including Clifton, Maple Street and Carlton) – and risk of involvement from inappropriate contractors if local experts with a genuine stake in skateboarding are not engaged; and  A range of local attempts at ‘skate schools’, demonstrations and one-to-one tuition, not all with the necessary CRB checks, insurance and first aid training – and the significant opportunity to link and scale-up this activity, especially in accessing public and charitable funding streams.

Responding to current local barriers and risks, there are opportunities for a community organisation to promote, grow and advocate skateboarding in Nottingham in partnership with Nottingham City

13 Source: ONS Crown Copyright, from NOMIS [accessed 24th July, 2016), Local Area Profile for 2011 Ward E36000375: St Ann’s

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Council – for the benefit of the sport and culture and to unlock potential wider impacts for the economy, society and identity of the city:

 A well-branded network could increase local participation, help draw in ‘skate tourism’, and build on the range of creative and cultural investment and enterprise taking place in Nottingham – particularly the Creative Quarter initiative;  A network of user experts could act as advocates for skateboarding and engage more positively with Local Government, charities and the private sector, including to extend and maintain the current estate of skate facilities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; and  If well designed and carefully considered, skate park facilities and events could build critical mass and increase the number of jobs connected to skateboarding in the city, in the private, public and charitable/non-profit sectors, drawing in investment and increasing business start- up. Currently graduates and other young people who wish to work in areas connected to the skateboarding, or use the skills they have developed through their involvement in skateboarding (such as photography, film and digital media), are likely to have to move to London or leave the UK.

Skate Nottingham Objectives

Objective Comments Who else is doing this – examples of it done well To provide credible expertise, Wider international campaign Long Live Southbank; Skate contacts and representation for Local around use of public space; Malmö/ Bryggeriet Government, public bodies and Opportunities related to Local charities, potential funders and Authority initiatives, including private investors – including to Creative Quarter; national and organise and support campaigns for European funding (WREN; an indoor facility and/or large-scale Sport England; EU 2020 public outdoor facilities. Structural Funds) To promote and support Nottingham- Alongside 42 – a wide range of NY Skateboarding, Skate based businesses – to build a critical small, creative brands and Malmö mass of independent, skateboard projects – Varial, Fun Time, orientated brands and projects, The Splinter Cell, ACAB, Triple increasing employment and business OG, etc. opportunities in the city and wider A non-profit organisation area. could help secure opportunities, funding and wider interest, increasing viable business and employment opportunities in Nottingham skateboarding. Promote and raise awareness of the Help avoid recent Skate Copenhagen; Skate estate of public skate park facilities in disappointment and Malmo; NY Skateboarding Nottingham/Nottinghamshire/wider disengagement of young East Midlands. Advise on people due to poorly designed maintenance; redevelopment and/or and built parks in Lady Bay, expansion. Rainworth, Arnold and Aim to get representation on Local Edwinstowe. Learning from Government project tender panels for Malmö on need for significant new skate parks; assist/manage user input at all stages. consultation and planning events.

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Increase ‘skate tourism’ to Creative Quarter Strategy and Skate Copenhagen; Nottingham Nottingham City Growth Plan Skate Malmö; Quartersnacks NYC Support – and help deliver – NTU Enterprise Centre ‘The The Skateboard Association community outreach; tuition; demos Hive’ can provide support and UK (Hull) and the Skateboard and coaching – increasing assistance in seeking funding School (Sheffield); participation and raising the positive (including CRB/DBS checks, SkatePal and Skateistan profile of skateboarding public liability insurance, first aid training, etc.) Organise and promote events – to Include national and Locally: 42; Hooked in activate existing facilities and expand international events in Derby use amongst underrepresented partnership with Flo; regular Globally: Skateboard groups, including women and girls, social events to support the Scotland; Skate Malmö; NY young people from deprived community, for example Skateboarding communities, young people and film/video nights in adults with special educational needs; partnership with local venues. News and updates on local issues

3. Findings from the King Edward Park User Survey

To expand and update the findings of an initial survey carried out by Nottingham City Council for the King Edward feasibility study (NCC, 2014)14, Skate Nottingham delivered an online survey via Survey Monkey. The survey was open between the 16th of March and the 15th of April 2016. Within this time, 73 individuals responded - with 55 respondents completing the full survey. The survey was promoted to currently active skateboarders who were likely to use the proposed facility in King Edward Park. Respondents were informed on the size of the designated plot (40m x 40m), its location, and the indicative budget originally announced by the Nottingham Post (£117,000 – but to include the costs of 5-aside football pitches), and were advised that this budget would preclude large transitions requiring significant earth works (e.g. bowls/bowled corners etc.). In line with Data Protection, respondents were asked to confirm their consent to be contacted as part of a King Edward Park User Group. 53 respondents gave consent and contact details.

The questionnaire included a mix of multiple-choice and free text responses. Key survey findings are as follows: 3.1 Demographic Profile of Responses

The age profile (Chart 3) was relatively wide, including those aged between 10 and 15 (4%) and those aged between 41 and 45 (2%) – although, as is expected from existing market research, the largest groups were older teenagers and young adults in their 20s. Those aged between 16 and 20 made up 36% of respondents and those aged between 21 and 25 accounted for 29%. Respondents in their early 30s (31-35) also made up a significant share (13%). The vast majority of respondents were male, demonstrating the need to raise awareness and increase participation in skateboarding for women and girls.

14 Nottingham City Council, 2014. ‘Joint Young People Skateboard Plaza Consultation.’

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Chart 3: Age of King Edward Park User Survey Respondents

10-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46 and above

3.2 Skateboarding and Active Lifestyles

Important findings for understanding the impact that skateboarding can have on active lifestyles include responses to questions on length of time individuals have been skateboarding, how many times a week they skateboard during the spring, summer and autumn, and what they do when the weather is too wet to skateboard. This illustrates how important the continued act of skateboarding is to participants, and the time and money they are willing to invest and the distances they will travel in order to skate appropriate facilities or to continue to skate when the weather in the UK is poor.

Chart 4: Number of Years Respondents have been Skateboarding

Less than 1 year 1 to 5 years 6 to 10 years 11 to 15 years 16 to 20 years More than 20 years

Chart 4 shows that the largest proportion of respondents (38%) had been skating for a relatively long period of time (6-10 years), with a small minority (2%) skating for less than a year). On the other

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extreme, 7% of respondents had been skating for more than 20 years. When correlated with the age of respondents, most had been skating for more than half their lives.

Chart 5: Frequency of Typical Participation (Spring, Autumn and Summer Months)

Less than once a month

Between once a month and once a fortnight Once a week

Two to three times a week

More than four times a week

As well as skateboarding being something that participants remain closely engaged with for many years, Chart 5 shows that it is something that the majority undertake very regularly – with the largest share (53%) skateboarding between 2 and 3 times a week, and the next largest (36%) skateboarding more than 4 times a week. Any well designed facility is likely to be well utilised.

Chart 6: Respondents’ Strategies in Winter/When the Weather is Poor

90% 80% 81.8% 83.6% 70% 60% 50% 56.4% 40% 30% 20% 27.3% 10% 18.2% 18.2% 0% Use the indoor Travel to other Go on trips to Skate Skate outdoors Not skateboard park in indoor parks in warmer/drier undercover even when the until the weather Nottingham other cities countries street spots, ground is wet improves such as car parks

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A consideration for skateboarding in the UK is the frequently wet weather, with it being very difficult to skateboard when the ground is damp (the act of jumping on a skateboard requires friction between the grip-tape on the top of the board and the shoe, making the board ‘stick’ to the skateboarder’s feet; when the ground is wet, not only is it slippy and therefore dangerous, but it is more difficult to ‘ollie’ as friction is reduced). Chart 6 illustrates respondents’ commitment to frequent skateboarding, with large shares (the question allowed selection of more than one option) using the local indoor park when wet, for which an entry fee is usually charged (82%), travelling to indoor parks in other cities (56%) or skating in an undercover car park or other sheltered space (84%). A minority said that they would simply wait until the weather improved (18%) which was level with the proportion who said they would persist with skateboarding outdoors even in wet weather. A significant proportion (27%) said they regularly go on trips to warmer/drier countries in the winter months – for example, many skateboarders from all over the UK go to Barcelona in the winter.

A further question examined how far local skateboarders were prepared to travel to skate a desirable skate park, in order to gauge the extent of potential inbound visits to Nottingham if the King Edward Park facility is designed and constructed successfully. In response to the question “which of the following towns or cities have you travelled to in order to skateboard”, the largest proportions of respondents, unsurprisingly, selected the relatively nearby cities of Derby (79%), Sheffield (79%) and 73% travelled to Leicester (although Sheffield is further away from Nottingham than Leicester, it has a large, well designed indoor park and several outdoor facilities). However, significant proportions also travelled to London (73%) and 52% travelled to Stoke-on-Trent (where there is a large outdoor skate plaza facility), and 60% had at least once travelled to a European city such as Barcelona, Paris, Malmö or Copenhagen specifically to skateboard.

3.3 Public Skateparks and User Preferences for the King Edward Park Facility

The final section of the survey explored use of public skateparks compared to street skating. This is to explore the feasibility of viewing a skatepark as a ‘diversion’ from street skating. Both our own experience and the Malmö case study suggest that a skatepark, however well utilised, is unlikely to prevent street skateboarding (although it may reduce the amount and frequency of skateboarders street skating). This is because of the essential nature of the activity – an interaction with the urban environment – means that skateboarders are likely to seek a mix of using purpose built public facilities alongside street skating. Chart 7 shows responses to the question “when you skateboard, how often do you use public skateparks?” Public skateparks were defined as outdoor facilities with no charge to use. This shows that the largest share (38%) selected “about half of the time”, implying that they either used indoor facilities (with an entry charge) or street skated the other half of the time. The next largest group (35%) used public skateparks the majority of the time they went skateboarding (“around 3 in every 4 times”). A very small minority “only used public skateparks” (6%) which was only 2 percentage points higher than the small minority (4%) who exclusively street skated.

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Chart 7: Frequency of use of Public Skateparks (outdoor facilities with no charge to use) when Skateboarding

None of the time

One in every four

About half the time

Around 3 in every 4 times I go skateboarding I only skate in public skateparks

To explore the kind of park users were most likely to favour, whilst bounding options sensibly within the known budget, respondents were asked to favour 3 options with a score of ‘1’ as most preferred and ‘3’ as least preferred:

 The largest share (22%) rated “A 'plaza' style park with mainly angular, street style obstacles (ledges, banks, flat bars) and flat ground” as most preferred (‘1’), and a further 22% rated this as second most preferred (‘2’). The rating average was 1.75;  A close second largest share (21%) rated “A mixed facility with some limited transition (quarter pipes, 'pump bumps'/moguls, DIY style transitioned banks or banked ledges, etc.) along with street style obstacles” as most preferred (‘1’) and a larger share as second preference (29% scoring this as ‘2’). The rating average was 1.69; and  A much smaller proportion (10%) rated “Mainly transition/ramps - understanding that this would be small scale due to budget; including combinations of quarter pipes or spines, tacos, etc. (a full bowl or bowled corner is not likely to be feasible given the budget)” as most preferred (‘1’), and a very small share rated it as second most preferred (3% gave this option a score of ‘2’) whilst the majority (40%) rated this as least preferred (scoring it at ‘3’). The rating average was 2.57 – the highest score and thus, by some way, the least preferred broad model of skatepark.

From this we can identify a strong wish for ‘street architecture’ style obstacles (a ‘plaza style’ park) with some limited transition – such as flat banks – rather than a ‘pure’ street plaza containing only angular, architectural obstacles. These preferences informed our initial suggested designs.

To inform specific obstacles to include in the design, we asked for free text comments on the kind of facilities respondents had skated in other towns and cities and, thinking in general, particular kinds of obstacles that they would favour. Selected free text quotes are as follows:

Skate Nottingham

“A good manual pad/ledge in there is always a good thing. I like parks that have a mixture of terrain, with unique obstacles or features. Maverick parks for example seem to quite often be approaching park designs with a fresh approach and I think this is something to be encouraged, especially when the budget may not be the biggest.”

“Be great to get a more 'street architecture' design and feel.”

“Plaza style park, arrangement of low blocks, curved blocks, rails, movable blocks and obstacles.”

“Quirky plaza style, block combos, kickers, flat banks, Stockwell style lumps. Lines that don’t cut each other up so that several people can skate at once.”

“I would like it to not look like a skatepark but appear to be a public space much like Sneinton Market or other 'street' spots which lend themselves nicely to interpretation and creativity. Architectural, aesthetic and sympathetic design is needed to appease local residents, disguising its purpose as a 'skate facility' through simple design elements.”

“Ledges, banks, nice long, wide manual pads, stair sets (5/6ish). Most importantly, the obstacles need to link together so that you can skate fluidly from one to another, skating lines.”

“Something that replicates Old Market Square.”

“Bank/hip that replicates Broadmarsh banks. A few features from the old market square.”

“Give the objects space and consider how they link - are good lines possible, is there time to set up for tricks? A mix of ramp/ledge/stair sizes for all abilities where possible.”

And examples of other skate parks/obstacles respondents thought could be incorporated:

“Hyde Park in Leeds, Hasenheide skatepark in Berlin, Stockwell in London (basic skatepark obstacles with multiple lines).”

“LES skatepark New York.”

“Love Park benches/ledges, San Francisco Pier 7 manny pads, bank to ledges.”

“Malmö harbour - array of flat manual pads and ledges.”

“Obstacles at the Mile End skate park like the steep bank, manny pad/ledge.”

“Rooftop street section at Derby (Bass Recreation Ground), Earthquake at Derby, red brink bank at Sheffield DIY, hip at Clifton, block and rail combos at Northhampton Radlands, MK Buszy marble T block (material is important).”

“Sneinton Market is incredible. Milton Keynes bus station (Buszy). Radlands Skate Plaza in Northampton.”

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4. Design Ideas for King Edward Park

Fig 2: The area of King Edward Park designated for the skate facility, a square former bowling green, 40mx40m in size.

Our current understanding from dialogue with the Parks Department at Nottingham City Park is as follows:

 WREN funding has been secured for the project. This will cover a new set of 5-aside football pitches plus a skateboard facility in the 40mx40m space in front of the pavilion, which was previously a bowling green. Current estimates of budget available is tight, and will also have to cover levelling and surfacing the bowling green area (currently very uneven turf);  Nottingham City Council are considering a modular project, where initial obstacles could be added to as additional resources become available;  Skate Nottingham have been asked to work as a small group to prepare initial plans for consultation with residents/community members, local businesses, etc. and the individuals who gave their consent to be contacted as part of a wider User Group;  Quotes would then be sought from general construction/civil engineering firms within NCC’s preferred suppliers list; and  Final plans would need to be confirmed with the successful contractor by the start of autumn (September) 2016. Work would begin before the end of the year to meet the terms of the current WREN funding.

This development is part of a series of projects to regenerate this green space and improve its active use, including a community garden and a Community Café run by Sneinton Tenants Outreach Programme (STOP TRA) in the old pavilion facing the bowling green. Further funding bids by community organisations, including Skate Nottingham, could include a stock of protective equipment (helmets) and a range of skateboards that could be stored at the pavilion to enable ‘skate school’ activities with local young people.

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The following diagrams cover 3 options for designs developed by a team of 6 Skate Nottingham Trustees for consideration by Nottingham City Council and wider public consultation.

NB: these designs should be considered as draft for consultation. Although every effort had been taken to ensure the scale is accurate – for every dimension of the obstacles – using Google Sketchup, Skate Nottingham Trustees are not professional skatepark designers, and we strongly recommend oversight and feedback from such nationally reputable designers (e.g. Maverick, Freestyle, Canvas, Gravity, etc.) before construction begins.

Option 1: A Mainly ‘Street’ Style Plaza Including a bank/hip based on Mile End (London) and a central manual pad based on Tempelhof (Berlin)

Option 1: Detail of the Mile End bank/hip

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Option 1: Detail of Pier 7 (San Francisco) inspired platform

Option 2: Central Obstacle with ‘pump bumps’ inspired by Mile End and Love Park Planter Ledges (in which the STOP TRA community could plant flowers etc.)

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Option 4: Large Love Park Platers and Different Options for a Modular Central Obstacle

The following photographs illustrate similar parks or obstacles to those we have proposed based on user survey responses. These provide an idea of the possible aesthetic appearance of the space, materials and integration with the surrounding environment. p.t.o.

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Fig 3: Berlin Tempelhof plaza, using reclaimed materials. Note the linked ledge configuration in the foreground and the floor surface. Tarmac should be avoided as is a very poor surface for skate parks (performs poorly for skateboarding/becomes uneven rapidly/requires maintenance). Cost effective options for King Edward Park that maintain an ‘architectural’ appearance could include reclaimed use of high quality paving slabs that may be stockpiled in LA depots (note that is very important that paving

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slabs are laid to be absolutely flush – gaps/uneven surface renders the facility of limited use). Picture courtesy of: quartersnacks.com

Fig 4: architectural skate obstacles integrated into public realm in Malmo. Note quality of the ledge/block. Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 5: alternative ledge materials used in Malmo (integrated public realm/designed for skateboarding) – note that a cost-effective alternative to solid blocks of marble/granite, as only the top surface and top portion of the sides needs to be solid – can be on ‘legs’; bench-style. Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 6: More skateable architectural obstacles in Malmo, in the Värnhem plaza. Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 7: Public realm in Malmo designed to be skated – but to have the appearance of a public plaza. Not mixture of materials: granite blocks plus welded metal obstacles (note proximity of King Edward site to the Hackspace project: http://nottinghack.org.uk/). Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 8: Detail of the Värnhem plaza, Malmö – a formerly underutilised public space where skateable obstacles have been installed. The area is now used as an events/competition space for skateboarding. Note surface (high quality/flush paving slabs) and obstacles (simple high performing stone, movable by Local Authority events team). Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 9: New skateable public realm in Malmö. Note materials used for ledges, with metal edging to allow grinding/sliding and to preserve function (lower cost alternative to high quality granite). Note obstacle to the far end of the site: a small bank-to-ledge specifically designed for skateboarding but integrated into the environment. Picture courtesy of: http://skatemalmo.se/

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Fig 10: Alternative for cost-effective ledge – using steel girder to support a relatively small amount of marble/granite.

Fig 11: Alternative for cost-effective ledge – metal edges to enable grinding/sliding.

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Fig 12: Alternative for cost-effective ledge – marble/granite supported by bricks or loose stone – could be complementary to look/feel of STOP TRA community garden.

Fig 13: Obstacles in Berlin, recently featured in Adidas ‘Away Days’ video. Note use of materials.

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Fig 14: Hasenheide skatepark in Berlin, making good use of small space/budget, with a single central obstacle surrounded by DIY-style transition in the periphery of the space.

Fig 15: Lund Skatepark – note differing surface materials and obstacle construction (brick foundation to ledges limits the amount of expensive granite needed, and is aesthetically appealing). photo courtesy of Skate Malmö.

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Fig 16: skate obstacles integrated into public ream in France – note different colour/materials of surface to mark out ‘skate route’. Could be considered to retain park of the 40m x 40m King Edward Bowling Green space for other users (e.g. dog walkers, etc.).

Fig 17: Double-sided curbs popular in the USA – a low cost and easy to manufacture obstacle that will be well-used is placed appropriately in the space.

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Risks from Other Skateparks

To avoid: pre-fabricated plastic, metal or wood ramps, or poor quality surface (e.g. tarmac); height/dimensions not accurate to design (if ledges/rails are too high/ if any banks/transitions are too steep, they will be useless). Relatively small departures from an agreed design could have significantly negative impacts on the facility’s usage – e.g. Truro plaza suffers from significant issues due to departure from plans in height/steepness and large sections of the facility are under-used. Another common mistake is lack of space between obstacles – limited ‘run-up’ means obstacles can be unusable.

The risks of a limited budget; use of amateur design (including our own designs – thus our strong recommendation for technical feedback from a skatepark specialist); if the facility is poorly designed or delivered, it not only wastes money but risks future disengagement by the user community (particularly younger users). We need to be mindful of these risks. We have the opportunity to be innovative, and learn from international best practice, but need to be equally aware of what constitute ‘bad’ skate-park design and construction, e.g.: https://mpora.com/skateboarding/are-these-the-worst-skateparks-ever-built https://kingpinmag.com/features/articles/the-worst-skateparks-continued-your-submissions.html http://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/certified-piece-of-suck-april-042015/