Hi Everyone,

First off some good news.

As you may have spotted in the local press we just received £23,000 from the Taunton Unparished Fund (TUF) bringing the total amount raised by the project to £48,000. We're still short of our goal, so the priority is still on chasing funding. If you want to help the project give us a shout (here) and arrange to sit down with us so we can discuss how you can become part of our team.

On top of our few existing younger members we are forming a "user group" which after being formed will be taken to visit some of the newer regional parks and be tasked with working on funding applications that specifically require youth involvement.

The two questions always asked when we get on to the subject of the skatepark are:

1) Funding. This is still our primary focus. We have several applications in progress, anyone with knowledge of, or wishing to work on other applications get in touch (here).

2) Design. We will be approaching this in a novel fashion. Although there is an already obvious outline in place we will be using the outcome from skate park visits and project meetings to formulate a formal written design brief for "design & build" skatepark companies to work from.


Rob Linegar (Project Coordinator)

Hi everyone, here is the first 'extra' for the project site.

This will be expanded greatly when more materials are forthcoming.


A brief history of skateboarding in and around Taunton




A quick update on other noteworthy regional skatepark projects.

Chard skatepark was expanded in July to have a much wider smooth concrete floor area which opens up many more possibilities with the existing facilities. The next stage for Chard is their flood lighting, for which they have money. They are entering the tender process so it shouldn't be long. After that they will begin fund raising again for additional ramps.

Filton (Wheelscape, designed by Jeremy Donaldson) Under construction. No ETA, but it can't be far off at all. (Concrete bowl and some street elements)

Newton Abbot (Gravity Skateparks) Work starts on the 11th August and will be completed 6-8 weeks from then. (Large concrete bowl)

Truro (MLJ) Work had started and has hit problems of some sort. This will now be massively delayed and will be built by a different contractor. (Concrete bowls, Ramps and Street plaza)

Hello, Welcome to the official Community Skatepark Project (Taunton) homepage.

As you may have heard, project chairman Mark "Edgie" Edgecombe decided to leave the project in April 2008 after 5 years at the helm. During that time the project received £25,000 pump prime money from TDBC, Got permission to replace the outdated skatepark at Hamilton Gault Park and worked with the council, local skateboarders and an architect to create and gain Planning Consent for a design.

In his departure Edgie nominated Russ Squire to take over as project Chairman. He accepted. Long time friend of the project Rob Linegar was brought on board in the role of Project Coordinator. We thank Edgie for all the hard work he did as Chairman.

Since these changes we have worked with the other committee members to develop a flexible and pragmatic approach towards the project funding and design to take us into the future. What follows is a breakdown of our activities and areas of focus.

• Funding.
  
  Prior to the local elections last year the council pledged to build the skatepark, and campaigned upon this during their bid for re-election in 2007. They lost and are unable to uphold their pledge.
  
  Whilst they are supportive of the project, In the short term its not likely TDBC will fund a park, but we still hope that we can work with them so that money for the park can be found or budgeted for in the future.
  
  Whatever the outcome. We are chasing multiple funding sources and (where necessary) registering the project to open up further sources.
  
  This is our primary focus.
  
  
• Design.
  
  We strive for the skatepark that Taunton needs.
  
  Due to the funding difficulties so far we're in the process of rethinking the design to cover a phased approach. We have a goal of approx £150,000 for the first phase to cover things of the utmost priority. Potential future users will be pleased to hear there will definitely be a modest concrete bowl and an equivalent amount of skatepark plaza elements.
  
  We will not be spending anything in this area until we have funding for the park.
  
  Judging by attendance levels at other skateparks in the region, and as Somerset currently has nothing else like this it is anticipated the park will be exceptionally busy. To be pragmatic we decided, that unless additional funding materialises we will evaluate the requirements for the next phase against whats most needed at the park at the time instead of jumping the gun.
  
  
• We have four meetings scheduled with people from the council within August alone.  (Update: All Four done!)
  
  
• This web page provides a direct link for potential future skatepark users, young and old to communicate with the project commitee and each other. Future updates for this page will contain project details, information on the history of the project (including a Press Archive), and a history of skateboarding locally. We also try to keep up with the progress of other regional projects and will drop occasional news updates on those.
  
  

Comments and questions appreciated, (you'll need to sign up to the forum)

Rob Linegar
Project Coordinator
Community Skatepark Project (Taunton)