This Saturday Brentwood Jam!

There is a jam on in brentwood this saturday and it appears to be quite a big one involving other activities besides the skatepark, due to the size of this event there is a possibility of local media attention, which could possibly help us getting our message out.

We haven't got the t-shirts ready yet, (infact we still need design ideas), but a cheap white t-shirt and a marker pen could advertise the cause just as well, get on down to primark!

Update. 26/10/09

Today we hit 600 members in the facebook group. I've had a few replies about setting up a core comittee, but none from inline skaters yet, if you want your voices heard, get involved. We also received some information from Lib Dem Stephen Robinson as below:

Stephen Robinson
Cllr. Mike Mackrory met the council official who is responsible for Central Park a couple of weeks ago. He confirmed that future for the skate park site is linked to what happens on the old university site north of Parkway.
 
Part of the plan will be an improved subway connection under Parkway and this is supposed to be funded by the developer of the university site. The location of the new subway will affect the skate park location. The developer is also expected to pay towards improvements of the park's facilities.

There will be a consultation exercise at some future point to consider all possibilities for Central Park but as ever patience is going to be required as no time has been set for that.

Cllr Mackrory and I will continue to raise the issue. The Liberal Democrats do place a high priority on improved facilities for young people.

So the rumor about a bridge is replaced by the problem of a subway, however that consultation will be a great chance for us to get our message across. The money for improvements to the park's facilities may also be something we want to keep an eye on. If the subway goes where the skatepark is currently located and needs to be (re)moved that may be our chance to build something bigger and better to replace it.

There are now a couple discussion boards on the facebook group one for fundraising ideas and one for what you would like to see included in the park, this park and project needs to be something everyone wants so use this chance to have some input!

Links:
Skatepark Ideas
Fundraising Ideas

The Case for Construction.

Other than the obvious problems with the current park, there are many reasons why a new quality facility is required. Skateboarding is an activity that deserves to be fostered and catered for. It has participants from all social groups, the current scene in Chelmsford, stronger than it has been for a long time, shows the breadth of interest in the activity.

Comments in our facebook group show many people share my frustration that Chelmsford, the county town, has a substandard park when other local small communities such as Dunmow and Saffron Walden have spaces they can be really proud of. I think it is about time that we in Chelmsford finally had something to shout about. Surely the county town should be the leader not running behind trying to catch up.

A good skatepark will be good for Chelmsford as a whole. People are willing to travel to a quality park. This will be good for transport providers and local businesses. The recent Dunmow jam saw a huge turnout in a town that has transport links nowhere near as good as those of Chelmsford.

In a time when obesity of all ages is an issue surely supporting an activity that gets people out of the house and really using their bodies is a great idea. Childhood obesity is particulary an issue, and  young people make up the majority of participants in action sports. In the space of one football field, designed for use by 22 people at a time, something that far more people will find fun, exciting and engaging can be constructed. (To dispel a myth, according to research skateboarding is a much safer activity than football, with less than half as many hospital trips required per 1000 users.*)

The activities in a skatepark are of course not only physical, there is also a large amount of social interaction, often between members of society who would otherwise have little in common. Although some times called action sports they lack the competitive element of team games, with everyone supporting and encouraging each other, taking turns and sharing knowledge by teaching one another tricks.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons, but the first ones that came to mind when thinking about the project. I'm sure that many of you will have more points to add and it would be great to hear them in the comments below.


*Source: 12.3
http://www.ukskate.org.uk/The_Skatepark_Process/Providing_for_Skateboarding/08-13._Maintenance_20080126522/

Dartford Video

I linked to this in the last post, but it wasn't very obvious. It is a short video about the project for Dartford's park, and there are a few interesting points.
1) The people in the council had no idea about skateparks, but once they were shown they were very supportive of the project.
2) Funding came from various sources.
3) The project took a long time, but was worth it in the end.
4) A town with a long history of skating but without many good places to do it, (sound familiar?) can have a great park.

We Need Your Help!

We have been asked if bmxers and inline skaters will be taken into consideration, and the answer is, anyone who helps with the project will have their voice heard. This isn't just for skateboarders, you are all welcome, to suggest ideas, comment on others or just get involved with whatever events we are doing.

There are a lot of things we need help with:

• Petition. We need it to be properly written both online and hard copies, I think there is a special wording but I'm not sure (we the undersigned?) Once someone has done this, we need people to distribute it,  but not until we have something that is written so it has to be listened to.
• T-shirts. We need help with the design, so all you arty folks out there get out your felt tips and get drawing. We have a couple possible printers, but if anyone knows anyone who could do us a deal to keep prices down and increase the money for the fund, that would be peachy.
• Sponsorship. Talking of money for the fund, if anyone is associated with any companies, (preferably in the industry but not necessarily), that would like to sponsor our t-shirts, this would would again help keep costs down. We could also see about advertising on the blog. 
• Knowledge. If you know anything you think could be of use, or you have any ideas, let us know! There are some odd sources of money out there (I think dartford had funding from Barclays)  and we aren't exactly experienced in this process, so if you can, lend a hand.

We aren't trying to take over the project, just give it somewhere to live, so people have a place to bring ideas and somewhere to find out how the project is progressing. If you think you can help with any of these things leave a comment or message me on faceboook throught the group, let us know what you're doing so we can let others know.

The Coming Weather





Read this!

I'd suggest anyone interested in this project to read this, especially those who are not end users.

http://www.ukskate.org.uk/The_Skatepark_Process/Providing_for_Skateboarding/01._The_Skatepark_Process_20080126523/

It's a short guide that points out some great points; both good ideas to consider and pitfalls to avoid. It gave me lots to think about and some of what I think are the most relevant points will probably end up in some of my future posts.

This article about noise will probably be of use to planners and really supports the use of concrete construction.


http://www.spausa.org/noise-skateparks.html

The current situation

The current park in Chelmsford is dangerous and unimaginative, since being built in the nineties there have been no positive changes to the layout. The floor, never particularly good due to the large amount of aggregate in it, has become rougher. The obstacles have sunk into the floor creating dangerous lips where they join the ground. Where the jumpbox was removed the indentations it had created were not filled leaving a number of potholes, that pose a hazard to users. Some ramps have deformed preventing proper drainage, leaving slippery puddles and others have broken completely. Although some measures have been taken by local skaters to improve drainage and by the council in fixing the ramps, the issues have not been fully rectified.

Attached are pictures illustrating some of these points.

As bad as the current park is we must not lose it without a replacement being in place. I worry that in showing all the problems with the park local councillors will decide the best route is closure "in order to protect us". There have been many rumours of the impending loss of the park the best known is that a foot bridge will be built over the parkway ending up where the park is located. A local councillor has spoken with the planning department and they say that this is "unlikely". The use of the term "unlikely" however seems to be bit of a weasel word. It is still not a concrete decision and until it is no decision on the skatepark's future can be made. I fear that this may be the aim of the council.

My cynicism toward the council is shared by many skateboarders, many of whom see the council as an enemy. Comments on our facebook group show apathy and disillusionment by many who have seen a lack of care and knowledge by the council too many times before. Issues like the removal of the funbox without any reasons being publicly displayed and the painting of the entire ramps including coping and rails with a paint that seemed unsuitable for even the surfaces that could be painted, have done little to foster relations between the two groups.

Chelmsford is now a late mover in the construction of a quality skatepark this does however afford us some opportunities as we can see the strengths and shortfalls of other parks.

More pictures are available here: Phil McEwan's Photos - Chelmsford Skate Park Current Condition 22/03/10

Fundraising.

The cost of a new skatepark may seem huge to us but in comparison to the total spending of the local government it really isn't that much. They have money they need to distribute however we must show why our cause is the most worthy, there are lots of other groups out there fighting for a piece of the action.

The aim of fund raising is not only to accumulate funds to pay for the design and construction of the park, but also to increase publicity and display the level of support for the project.

At the moment there are a few ideas about how to go about this;
A sponsored skate, say from Chelmsford to the park in Brentwood. This would show we are prepared to work for what we want. By asking people to sponsor us, just as marathon runners do, we get the opportunity to tell them about the idea. I'm sure the local media would be interested in why there are dozens of skaters making a trip like this en massé.

T-shirt sales. The sale would raise money, but by wearing your t-shirt you would be publicising the cause wherever you went. These t-shirts could have the logo's of companies sponsoring the project, their contributions could cover the costs so that more of the final price went into the fund.

Let's make a video! The Chelmsford scene seems better than it has been for ages. A promo video would raise the profile of our town and our plight. If it was any good we could even sell it!

Before we do any of this however we need to look into getting charity status, so the money we raise actually has somewhere to go. If you have anymore ideas, feel free to let us know below.

In the beginning...

there were 567. That's how many members our facebook group has as I am writing this. That is a huge demand! This blog will be the hub for all our ideas, proposals and developments over the coming months, as we work towards our final aim: A NEW QUALITY SKATEPARK IN CHELMSFORD.

Check back soon for new posts!