BOURNEMOUTH is home to one of the oldest skateparks in Britain, but it’s currently ‘too dangerous to use’ with skateboarders calling for urgent investment.

Slades Farm skatepark was one of the first purpose-built skateparks in the UK, completed in 1978 and cost the council £8,000 at the time.

However, the skateboarding community said it is currently unable to use the park due to being in a desperate state of ill-repair.

Nicknamed ‘the cheese grater’, the surface of the park is rough, cracked and falling apart in places meaning that the small wheels of a skateboard are unable to glide across it without getting stuck - which skateboarders say could lead to serious injuries.

Owner of Waves skate shop in Poole, Ross Diamond said: “It’s a massive shame to see the park in this state.

“Nowadays we try and protect ourselves by wearing padding and helmets, so to come here and do yourself an injury through no fault of your own it’s pretty bad really and I think it’s negligent on the council’s behalf.”

Bournemouth Echo:

Cracks fill the park and pose a serious threat to skaters.

The skate community say they have had enough of the poor conditions at Slades Farm and are calling for urgent investment into the refurbishment of the park, returning it to its former 1970s glory.

Richie Inskip, skateboarder and sports therapist who has been skating at Slades Farm since 2001, said: “This was one of the pioneering skateparks back in the day. Only six or so other parks were built around the same time and a few of them now have heritage status.

“We should protect what we’ve got here and by injecting some investment into the park it would benefit all of the facilities around Slades Farm as well as local businesses because people from all over [the country] would be able to come here and skate again.”

Founder of Groms in Need - a skate project helping disadvantaged children in Dorset get into skating - Pye Kassiri said: “This should be a nice place for people to come and families to bring their children down and enjoy.

“If we don’t improve the park it will just become a place for people to hang out and it attracts the wrong crowd - rather than a place for kids and adults to come and be active and have fun.”

Bournemouth Echo:

The surface of the park is in need of urgent repair.

Richie said:

“I wouldn’t bring my kids down here, it’s too dangerous.

“Skating is a sport that no matter who you are and where you come from, you’re respected and treated equally - as a community we’re a family and we all look out for each other, it’s important to us all that it [Slades Farm skatepark] gets looked after.”

Clive Nelson from Active Dorset said: “Investment into the skatepark would be brilliant but the question is how would we raise the money - the other sites get outside funding and we need that in skateboarding, hopefully with the olympics there will be more of that around.”

Bournemouth Echo:

BMX riders tried to repair the bowl at the park themselves.

Richie, Ross and Pye are behind the Slades Farm Skatepark Fund which is calling for investment between £200,000 to £300,000 for the refurbishment of the park - which would see the park last another 50 years.

Richie said: “This has lasted 43 years with nothing and if it gets re-done with today's expertise and materials, you could expect it to last another 50 years without a shadow of a doubt.”

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “We want everyone to be able to continue enjoy and make use of the many popular facilities at Slade Farm safely, including the Skate Park, both now and in the future.

"We are also always eager to hear the views of residents on improvements that they would like to see in their local community. We will be following up on this and thank the group for sharing their video.’’

Visit Slades Farm Skatepark Fund on Facebook to support their calls for investment.