SKATE-friendly street furniture is being installed in Millennium Town Park today to make up for the lack of a skate park in town this winter, with the Harbour skate park set to close by the end of the year.
Some excited skaters view the new facilities as more “authentic” and “accessible” than traditional skate parks, while others are calling for an alternative St Helier skate park to be “delivered as a priority” because the “highest density of users are based” in town.
This development comes after the government confirmed that the New North Quay skate park would close in mid-December, while plans to create a replacement town facility at South Hill Gardens continue to be delayed.
Skate-friendly street furniture
Benches will be installed at the back of Millennium Park for both sitting and skating today as part of a one-year pilot programme to create more skate facilities in town.
The assistant minister with responsibility for sport, Deputy Lucy Stephenson, said: “This is our first step towards making skate facilities a permanent feature in St Helier, while we continue our work to develop a new town skate park which will replace the New North Quay skate park.”
Skate-friendly street furniture is intended to make skating and other wheeled activities in urban areas safe and fun, while also taking into account the needs of the larger community.
“Skateable art”
Skateboarder and youth worker Luka Pinto said he was “really excited” about the street-furniture project, considering it versatile and akin to functional art.
He believes that the new Millennium facilities will offer a more “authentic” experience for street skateboarding compared to traditional skateparks.
“A skate park is like a simulation, like those fake wave pools, whereas street skateboarding is more real, like the ocean,” he said.
“Real need for a more central skate park”
Sophie Kilpatrick – a member of Skateboard Jersey, who organises skate sessions for women – said: “The town skate park has been a much-loved and well-used skate park for many years and it will be really sad to see it removed.
“It is still a central hub for park users and I really hope that some of the ramps can be put to use elsewhere.”
She added: “There is definitely still a real need for a more central skate park.
“We are all so happy with the new Les Quennevais park, which is phenomenal, but we are still hearing from users that they can’t always get up there.”
Ms Kilpatrick also mentioned that once the town skate park is closed, the women’s skate sessions will have to relocate to Les Quennevais, but “the majority [of attendees] said they may not be able to always make it” there.
She described the skate furniture as a “fantastic start around the parish” but said that “with the news of the removal of the town skate park, an alternative central skate park must now be delivered as a priority”.
Jersey Skateparks Association vice-president Daco Fernandes said: “We’re really excited about this initiative and how it will make skateboarding and other wheeled sports more accessible.
“We’re really pleased that these new facilities are happening in St Helier, and look forward to announcing more developments soon.”
Skateboard Jersey chair Phil Minty said: “Integrating skate facilities like this into public space has been a huge success in many places around the world, and this addition to St Helier is a great step forward for skateboarding in Jersey, bringing an energetic new element to our most urban and densely populated parish.”
However, he added: “When the town skatepark is removed, the nearest skatepark to a huge number of Islanders [Les Quennevais or St John] will be out of realistic range at any time other than weekends for a significant proportion of each year.”
He added: “It’s vital to have more skatepark facilities in St Helier, where the highest density of users are based.”
Harbour skate park closure
The announcement of skate-friendly furniture being installed in Millennium Park comes as the government has confirmed that the New North Quay skate park will close at 9pm on 15 December.
Ports of Jersey have submitted a planning application to convert the area currently occupied by the skate park into a freight-handling zone for port operations, as part of its recently announced Ports Master Plan.
Before its temporary conversion into a skate park in 2008, the New North Quay site was a car park.
The planning application for its conversation stated that the skate park would be removed after 15 years and the site would be reverted to its former use as a car park.
“The New North Quay skate park was only ever designed as a temporary arrangement for 15 years, and its planning permit reflects that,” said Deputy Stephenson.
South Hill skate park
In 2021, the States agreed to build a replacement town skate park at South Hill in addition to the Les Quennevais skate park, which was opened earlier this year – but the former has yet to materialise.
Deputy Stephenson said: “We have plans for a new skate park at South Hill and the team is working through some of the finer details before a planning application can be submitted.
“There’s money allocated in the Government Plan to allow us to move this forward as quickly as possible, and it remains a priority for both myself and the Infrastructure Minister.”
A planning application submitted in March 2021 was withdrawn in 2022 over concerns about heritage and ecology, with officials working with key stakeholders and contractors to make the revised park plans more landscape-oriented and connected to the surrounding environment.
Principal engineer Oliver Brewster stated earlier this year that they were in the final stages of additional feasibility work on South Hill.
“Subject to the outcomes of the feasibility work and any planning application, construction would commence in 2024,” he said in February.
