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Press Release Restored Sections of Renowned Southbank Undercroft Skate Space to Open 20Th July

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Press Release Restored Sections of Renowned Southbank Undercroft Skate Space to Open 20Th July Press Release Date: Thursday 18 July, 10:00 ​ Contact: Debra Johnson, [email protected], 07966 804166 ​ ​ ​ Images: available to download here ​ ​ Restored sections of renowned Southbank Undercroft Skate Space to open 20th July Credit line: Southbank Undercroft Lower Skate Space © courtesy of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios ​ On Saturday 20th July, Long Live Southbank (LLSB) and Southbank Centre will publicly open sections of the Southbank Undercroft Skate Space which have been closed to the public since 2005. This will mark a joyful conclusion to several years of joint discussions, planning and fundraising by LLSB and Southbank Centre to help reopen a space considered by many to be one of the world’s most important and iconic skateboarding sites. Saturday 20th July will see skateboarders from across the country travel to the Southbank to enjoy the newly reopened space. There will be a free skate school from 11am - 12.30pm, followed by an open jam, competitions, best trick competitions, throwouts and general celebrations. The LLSB team, past and present supporters and project funders will be reflecting ​ on the project from 2pm. Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of the Southbank Centre, said: "We're all delighted that the ​ ​ extended skate space in the Southbank Undercroft is now open. This is testament to a genuinely collaborative partnership between the skate community and Southbank Centre as well as a brilliant fundraising campaign by both Long Live Southbank and Southbank Centre to realise the project. Many thanks to the Mayor's office who have been so supportive." Louis Woodhead, Campaign Manager, Long Live Southbank, said: ​ “It is hugely important for cities to have free creative space so that people can breathe. Southbank is a great example of a space where a whole community has come together and worked for years to ensure it not only survived, but gives local young people enough space so that they can thrive creatively.” Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “The ​ ​ Undercroft is part of our city’s cultural fabric, known around the world and open to all. Thanks to the Mayor’s funding, I am delighted that the Undercroft will continue to thrive for decades to come.” Daniel Rose, London Officer for the Architectural Heritage Fund, said: ​ “We were pleased to fund a development grant for LLSB at a time when it was really clear to us they would benefit from support to drive forward this exciting project. We provided a grant of £21,000 towards the project management and professional fees and services needed to get the project delivered. The cultural significance of the space coupled with an energetic and enterprising team behind the campaign impressed us and we knew it was a project we wanted to be part of.” The Undercroft, which is managed by the Southbank Centre, has been used by skateboarders since the 1970s and is considered by many to be the home of British skateboarding. Sections were closed to the public in 2004 and 2005 due to renovation and maintenance works. The local community of skateboarders, BMXers, Graffiti Writers and other creatives approached Southbank Centre in 2013 and 2014 and a partnership was formed to develop the space. After planning permission was granted, £1.1 million was raised in a joint fundraising campaign. The transformation of the Southbank Centre Undercroft has received £700,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund which is being delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the capital. The work has restored Southbank’s little banks, one of the most important sites in UK skateboarding history. The work will also restore the wooden ledge, a large area of flatground and create a new jersey barrier for skaters to use in the space. The LLSB campaign has been community led and is an important example of young people working together with an awareness of their space’s heritage, to create positive social change for future generations. LLSB and Southbank Centre would like to thank the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, Sport England, The London Marathon Charitable Trust, Palace Skateboards, Supreme, adidas Skateboarding, Architectural Heritage Fund and every individual donor who has helped make this restoration possible. The reopening of the skate space is the first of a two-phase project which will also include the development of a proposed learning space. Continuing the celebrations, from 31st July - 3rd August The Long Live Southbank Exhibition ​ will run at Bermondsey Project Space. It will feature a detailed overview of the space’s five decade history, the LLSB campaign and the future of the space. There will be a full programme of film screenings, speakers, panel discussions and community events with three stories of photography, film and artefacts from across the decades. More general information can be found on our website: www.llsb.com ​ #ENDS# ​ For further press information, interviews and images please contact Long Live Southbank: Louis Woodhead +447835058426 Stuart Maclure +447522069783 Email: [email protected] ​ Social media Instagram: @LongLiveSouthbank Facebook: Long Live Southbank Twitter: @Long_Live_SB YouTube: SaveSouthbank NOTES TO EDITORS ​ ​ ​ ​ Image credits Credit line: Southbank Undercroft Skate Space (skateboarder: Tom Delion) © photographer Harry Turner Credit line: Southbank Undercroft Lower Skate Space © courtesy of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios ​ Credit line: Southbank Undercroft Upper Skate Space © courtesy of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios ​ About Long Live Southbank (LLSB) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Long Live Southbank (LLSB) is a non-profit grassroots organisation created by the Southbank Undercroft community in order to maintain and enhance the world's longest continually used skate spot and promote the benefits of skateboarding and creative practices worldwide. Set up in 2013, LLSB has been recognised for its award-winning work by key figures from across the fields of art, culture, politics and architecture. Southbank has been skated for over 5 decades and is one of the world’s most iconic skate spots, drawing skateboarders, BMXers and street artists from across the globe, as well as being a springboard of creativity. LLSB is made of a pan-generational group from the Southbank community who represent the broad age ranges, social backgrounds and life experiences of the Undercroft. Since its inception LLSB has assisted skateboarding campaigns in the UK and internationally and continues to promote the benefits and positivity of skateboarding. About Southbank Centre ​ ​ ​ ​ Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre and one of the UK's top five visitor attractions, occupying a 17 acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. We exist to present great cultural experiences that bring people together and we achieve this by providing the space for artists to create and present their best work and by creating a place where as many people as possible can come together to experience bold, unusual and eye-opening work. We want to take people out of the everyday, every day. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery as well as being home to the National Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. It is also home to four Resident Orchestras (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) and four Associate Orchestras (Aurora Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain). Join the conversation: @southbankcentre ​ About the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund The Good Growth Fund is the Mayor of London’s biggest regeneration fund and is delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP). It was launched in June 2017 and will run until March 2021. It provides £70m of capital funding from sources including the Local Growth Fund and European Social Fund, as well as expert regeneration advice, design support and knowledge sharing opportunities. For more information on the Good Growth Fund, see: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/regeneration/funding-opportunities/good-growth-fund-supporting-r egeneration-london. ​ About the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) The London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) is the local enterprise partnership for London. The LEAP brings entrepreneurs and business together with the Mayoralty and London Councils to identify strategic actions to support and lead economic growth and job creation in the capital. For more information, see: https://lep.london/ ​ ​ .
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