A popular skate park in Irlam has closed due to health and safety fears, despite a viral video campaign by the trick-happy riders who use it every week.
The facility at Princes Park off Liverpool Road attracts hundreds of BMX, skateboard and scooter enthusiasts from across the city, but it’s become a victim of its own success.
Because it’s so heavily used, the ramps built for its 2005 opening can’t cope with the number of riders.
The entire skatepark will have to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up – at an estimated cost of £150,000.
Read: £150k health and safety fears put Irlam skate park out of action
In September Salford City Council unveiled plans to SalfordOnline.com to close the skate park due to the high cost of regularly repairing ramps.
It could be out of action until spring 2016 – or longer if the money can’t be found in council budgets.
Keen scooter rider Sarah Murray from Irlam was inspired to act and in less than two days created a campaign video to raise vital funds to secure the park’s fate. Remarkably the video had 1,000 hits within 24 hours.
She said: “I’m devastated the park has closed. I grew up on there so obviously it’s hard. I honestly can’t express enough how it helped me and my friends when growing up.”
“I understand that the park was unsafe in the way that I’ve seen so many people take some nasty falls from going through the wood! Underneath the ramps were just completely rotted and damp.”
As the winter approaches they are left with few options to skate indoors, due to three indoor skate parks across the city also being closed this year, including the Central Skatepark in Manchester.
Despite today’s closure, Sarah vows to continue raising funds and has been liaising with closely with local councillors.
“I recently had a meeting with a few of the local councillors from Irlam and Cadishead and they really appreciated me turning up so they could here the views from someone who actually uses the park. They also loved my video,” she said.
Councillor Peter Taylor, who represents Irlam, told this site in September added: “Finding funding for any project, no matter how worthy, is getting increasingly difficult, but we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to raise the money and get this brilliant community facility re-opened as soon as possible.”
In a statement Salford City Council posted on Facebook: “Salford City Council and partners are now proposing to replace the BMX/Skate Park…and are looking at various external funding opportunities to enable this to happen.
“It is hoped that, subject to funding, a new structure will be installed early/mid 2016.”
