New £800,000 skate park to be built at Les Quennevais?

New £800,000 skate park to be built at Les Quennevais?

The venture is part of a £1.3 million project to improve provisions across the Island for skateboarders, BMX riders, rollerbladers and other park-based extreme sports – particularly in St Helier.

It follows the announcement that the existing facility on the New North Quay in St Helier in May 2018 would be closed, after youngsters were spotted on CCTV throwing concrete blocks into the St Helier Marina and climbing a large temporary scaffolding structure which had been erected over the Maritime Museum building.

Since then, officers from the Growth, Housing and Environment Department have assessed the suitability of 15 locations and have now identified the St Brelade location as the most appropriate.

It is hoped that the new skatepark will be 1,500 to 2,000 sq-metres in size and be completed in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, when skateboarding will feature among the events for the first time.

Assistant Economic Development Minister Steve Pallett, who has responsibility for sport, said that although urban sports were not seen as mainstream by many, they were already part of the lifestyle of many Islanders of all ages.

‘They provide not only an outlet for many young people who generally do not engage in more popular sports but also an opportunity to meet socially while enjoying their chosen activity,’ he said.

‘As a government, we have committed to improving Islanders’ wellbeing both physically and mentally and importantly to putting children first. I am confident that we will be able to build excellent facilities before July 2020, so that we can harness the interest that the Olympics will generate.

‘The necessary consultation will begin shortly to enable all those living and working close to Les Quennevais, as well as valued users of the Sports Centre and all interested Islanders, to learn more about the proposals.’

Senator Pallett added that the government now needed to liaise with the Jersey Skateparks Assocation – made up of skaters and other interested parties – regarding the design of the new facility.

Karl Payne from the Jersey Skateparks Association, said that his organisation and the government had worked to draw up plans to build skatepark facilities across the Island.

He said: ‘We believe that this plan will serve Jersey better than one single park, and will future-proof the island by having more facilities for urban sports as more young people get involved in skateboarding, BMXing, rollerblading and other wheeled sports.’

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