The iconic skatepark is about to get a major extension.
The famous South Bank skatepark, long anointed as the spiritual home of British skateboarding, has just come into some money. They’re choosing to increase the size of the skatepark, in a win for boarders and bikers that will make the park… rad? (Is that a thing?)
As part of a recent funding drive, the skatepark won a £700,000 grant from City Hall to increase the size by a third, as part of the ongoing Long Live Southbank campaign. It’s a pretty stunning turnaround given that four years ago, the city planned to relocate the park and replace the current site with shops and restaurants – a proposal that was met with determined opposition at the ttime.
As well as more jumps, concrete banks, and moody lighting, the Standard reports that the money will go towards building a new “creative education centre”. The money guarantees the park’s future, and you can expect to see the new section lovingly covered in graffiti before long, too.
Though this is a big win for campaigners, the skatepark won’t return to the size of its early-noughties heyday. In 2004, much of it was fenced off and redeveloped, but the extension will go some way to remedying this. Now, having successfully proved that I am still down with the kids, I’m off to grab a board to prove that I can nosegrab on a switch 720.