Wheelie good news as Spiceball skatepark gets the OK

Banbury's extreme sports community will be provided a state (skate) of the art skatepark after Banbury Town Council approved its installation.
Spiceball Park Skate Park artisits impression NNL-180409-120339001Spiceball Park Skate Park artisits impression NNL-180409-120339001
Spiceball Park Skate Park artisits impression NNL-180409-120339001

The skatepark, also to be used by inline skaters and freestyle BMX riders will replace the existing set of ramps in Spiceball Park.

Three companies placed bids to build the new wheeled sports area based on a budget of around £103,000. These were accepted on August 3 with the winning design picked by current users of the park on August 14. 
Fearless Ramps of Kent were the successful company in charge of the design and construction of the new park.

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Cllr Colin Clarke, chairman of the Banbury Town Council’s general services committee, said: “We are constantly updating the equipment in our parks and this is a continuation of the council’s policy.

Spiceball Park Skate Park artists impression shows the view when entering Spiceball from the GF Social club side of the canal NNL-180509-114130001Spiceball Park Skate Park artists impression shows the view when entering Spiceball from the GF Social club side of the canal NNL-180509-114130001
Spiceball Park Skate Park artists impression shows the view when entering Spiceball from the GF Social club side of the canal NNL-180509-114130001

“The old skate ramp was very well used and the new facility, designed and built by one of the most experienced firms in the business, should be even more popular. We are looking forward to seeing it in place.”

The new park will be 450 square metres in size and will incorporate a number of ramps, half pipes and viewing platforms.

Fearless Ramps met with Banbury Town Council and users of the existing ramps to finalise design details.

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Joe Douglas, director of Fearless Ramps, said: “It’s a huge credit to the council that they’ve allowed the local riders to work with us to design the skatepark down to the smallest detail.

“Often users are overlooked and the result is a park that doesn’t work or flow properly. The design accommodates varying abilities and can be used with all types of extreme sports equipment.

He added: “The park will bring in users from all over the country and make Banbury a hub for the skating community.”

The official go-ahead for the , yet to be named, skatepark was given at Tuesday’s General Services Committee meeting at Banbury Town Hall.

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Recreation and amenities manager Mike Hall presented the committee with the approved design of the park which was met with unilateral approval.

Labour Cllr Surinder Dhesi, said: “It looks very good and it is very good that we are doing something for the young people.”

Construction of the metal frames skatepark will take around ten weeks and will come with come with a guarantee of 15 years.

Cllrs hope the ramps will be installed in November, possibly with a wheeled sports competition marking its opening.