Hayes Middx skatepark

[edslateford]

Plans are afoot for a major new (hopefully) concrete park in Hayes Middlesex. The local skate community has done an excellent job in getting to the planning and design stage and everything looks positive for work to start soon. However, it's really important that the local council know that there is a strong demand for the park. So it would really help if we could gather as many signatures as possible. If you go to this link on the skateboards of choice website you can add your name and that of your wfe/offspring/dog/granny etc: http://www.skateboardsofchoice.co.uk/petition.cfm

Thanks for your help.
Ed Slateford

[htcdude]

I think it's definately going ahead, they've promised something there by the end of the summer...just in time for winter.....hmmm

[Twellsy]

It's on it's way.....no sweat, out to tender as we speak....plans not finalised.....but it's concrete...big.....and ten mins drive from Heathrow.

Will keep this thread updated when I know more

T

[Guest]

Ive seen the plans and i must say i like them alot, looks real sick, always enjoyed penzance so this design rocks ! ! !

[fakiestore]

Any chance of getting the plans up on here - whoever you are???

[Guest]

Any chance of getting the plans up on here - whoever you are???

Yeah np, hang on

[Trevenen]

comparisin to PZ? can't be bad.. who is this mystery man??

[Twellsy]

Yo gang,

I'm at the moment, trying to find out the latest with the LB Hillingdon re the skatepark tender...

It aledgedly (sp?) went out in mid december, to a bunch of un named skatepark contractors....the site has been surveyed, Gravity are the consultants...as they are in with the council....and have now got another concrete park under their belts....
so. the design is loosly based on penzance, but with differing height trannys, unlike the bloody deep all the way round penzance....(which is magnificent by the way!)

so, there are no "actual" drawings that shows the park as it will be, just a rough idea to get some quotes based on....

Last I heard from LBH was looking to get going very soon.....ahem, but they are not replying to my emails at present.

hope that's enough info for now, I think there was a pic posted under "gravity go concrete" ...but I never posted it, and it's only the 1st draft of the park....so don't go slagging it off!

nuff info?

I'm off to work.

Have a lovely Friday....

T

[Twellsy]

Word is,

tenders are out,

expected back Mid Feb

Park in the ground...maybe June?July.

it's all I know for now

T

[Twellsy]

There is another meeting this Thursday night...if there's any good news I will post it!

T

[dave carlin]

what is it with the English and settling for second class?

Bendcrete? why not shoot for the sky instead and settle for second class if you have to?

Should include Airspeed, Team Pain, PTR, Dreamland on tenders. Dreamland will fingers and toes crossed have worked in the UK soon which will make it much more possible and Airspeed have I believe already started work in Dublin so they should be more possible too.


Shall we go surfing there is a 2 foot swell on dude or shall we go snowboarding there is lots of hardpack snow and slush to ride!

[burt cokain]

Yeah, fuck Bendcrete. Their parks are OK, but they're a bit boring and all the same. Very expensive too.

[camo pete]

Bendcrete = pre-formed sections.The way they link sections together is shocking too.Absolutely no concern for the longevity of their work either.First hand experience of these lot at Meanwhile.Very poor finishing/grades of mix.
The only reason they have got away with it for this long is because nobody else has stepped up to directly target local authorities.Up until a couple of years ago,they were the only ones working in concrete.We are seriously decades behind the rest of the world.

[H-Boyz]

Any news on the Hayes park anyone?

[Twellsy]

Sorry Guys...been busy.

I went to the last meeting....and have decided to offer more help in speeding the process up, by kinda running the skatepark part of the whole project, as there are so many things going on, it's not getting the full attention it needs....no offence to anybody involved.

Tenders went out, proposals came in....I cleverly managed to not be able to be at the presentations, so I don'y know what the plans are like, due to work comittments!

The best one is over our budget...but we possibly have a way to get the money.....with more letter writing to the right people....ho hum.

So....I hope to be more help with it in the future, and the Lake farm Comittee are happy for me to do more.....so....that's all I can say right now.

T

[sk8m8]

http://www.hawksbmx.co.uk/skatepark.php

[Ifliped]

The street bit looks shite.. Dunno about the bowl either, looks a bit unimaginative and I reckon you'll get a load of collisions..
How bloody hard it is to get a decent street section without 1000 steps?????
Should be bloody funny people grinding the block or olling down those stairs at the top of the pic.. They'll end up in the bowl..
And those rails seem to be slapped anywhere.
Seesh!

[Trevenen]

The bowl shape looks quite a lot like Penzance!

[Twellsy]

That was the 1st draft...and is not the actual plan....don't worry!

T

[Twellsy]

Hot off the press today...Hayes is finally getting a skatepark, I'm unsure about the actual design...(I'm located a mere 200 miles away now so the meetings were hard to attend!

fingers crossed, it turns out well...there is a bit of a saga still, as teh council awarded the tender to Blakedown..! but i'm told that Wheelscape now build the skateparks for them.....so.....it aint all bad.....

dotcomjohn....whats happening?

No idea on timescale or whatever...but 9 years since i first sat in meetings trying to get this built, ...i'm glad something is happening!

T

[dotcomjohn]

Hi Guys,

Yep it's Blakedown and unfortunately it hasn't been subbed out... however, they were always going to win this, regardless of all our concerns, or how many times we went back to tender ~ long long story ~ on the positive side at least it's not their cookie cutter design!

Whether this can be built to the standard it will require remains to be seen, but the situation is what it is... and if it didn't go ahead pronto we'd have lost our (major) share of the funding and we'd all lose.

Contractors started on-site as of this Monday, not a lot happening other than safety fencing, marking out etc. I'm told they scraped the topsoil away today, and I'll be visiting regularly and hopefully be able to post progress pics as the estimated 10 week build progresses.

Thanks to Jeremy D for all his work on the concepts and winning design, and also to James Hitchcox @ Zeal Distro and Steak @ Death Skateboards for their valuable input on the final tweaks.

Everything crossed they don't fuck this up... after all this time and effort, it's pretty much out of our hands now...

[TonyB]

John I know you said its a long story but the fact that you said Blakedown were always going to get it is disconcerting, and something sounds very wrong there . At least you had input from James and Steak on the design.....I don't rate JD's design's at all.

What is the budget?

[dotcomjohn]

Passed by earlier today and they've fenced the site off and started pegging and digging out what will be the bowl end.



The budget is 166k now, as the council have already spent around £50k on various "surveys" and a rough gravel access road

There's bigger pics of the plans on the facebook page and council propaganda can be found here

[dotcomjohn]

Progress has been slow but the snow has gone, a load more excavation got done to the street end and the bowl is getting deeper (although now flooded) - not too concerned about that though as the area is all gravel and drains quickly. Pic of the site taken yesterday:

[Twellsy]

OH
MY
GOD

at last....now I live 220 miles away from it

agggh!

I now have a decent excuse to go visit my brother more often!

hope it dont end up a dodgy park.....

[dotcomjohn]

A couple of pics from today, the fence was down already f*ck knows how they'll keep the feral sh*ts out when it comes to pouring time!

More excavation around the street end:


And what looks like the first deep soakaway behind that orange fencing:


It's still early days but the bowls footprint still looks small to me? ...maybe it's just my Blakedown anxiety

[TonyB]

Is the design based on that Wheelscape rendition ?

[Twellsy]

I think so Tony.....I think so

[dotcomjohn]

Hi guys, the park should be exactly as per Jeremys plans and the blueprint is very detailed - the idea being that if it is fucked up there can be no argument that the design was open to interpretation... precise specs for coping, waterfalls etc.

Found this overview showing the main dimensions:



So, the bowl should go from 4' in the bird-bath end to 8' in the pocket, spine/box is about 5.5' high..

Just read elsewhere about the mess Gravity are making of the Livingston rebuild

[camo pete]

Posted on the Facebook page but here it is for those that don't partake:
Skated it today between the rain showers.The humps that are hiding at the sides of the waterfalls are an unwelcome surprise.Was it an intention to make the finish rippled on the transitions?Found it quite difficult to get an effective line into the cave,and the launch/roll in opposite is not a natural line either.It's a fun park but the layout doesn't work that well,in my opinion.Definitely needs some astro-turf or hard landscaping around the sides of the park.As has already been said,take a broom..

[TonyB]

Sad to see that report Camo. Another fuck up then. Someone ban Jeremy Donaldson from designing new parks, everything he does seems to get screwed up, and he can't design for toffee.

[Twellsy]

ah....I have skated it too, and spoke to another skatepark construction worker today who also skated it.....

dont want to say too much here as I'm going to help dotcomjohn write a full report.....but it is far from good....very shabby finish, rushed job, and we had no decision in who won the contract.
I'm really upset by this, having waited so long.....

here's a pic to wet your appetite Tony...!

I love it when companies take care in their work, and this company should be BANNED from ever going near a skatepark again

[camo pete]

I am really surprised by the lack of feedback on the Facebook page,and this site.For a brand new park it seems that hardly anyone is skating it,or perhaps they are keeping their opinions to themselves.No wonder companies get away with building such rubbish if the end users are so apathetic.

[Twellsy]

Pete...I fully understand, but....believe me, the shit will indeed hit the fan soon.
There's nothing gained by calling them rubbish on facebook, but everything gained when done properly, with a full report, health and safety certificates requested, local paper interest...who are already watching keenly to and were waiting until this suspicious project was completed.

I hope to see it being made good, safe and skateable, and Hayes not be left as a wasted dream, and the builders getting away with such a disgraceful installation.

Keep you posted once we have completed the reports.

T

[camo pete]

Pete...I fully understand, but....believe me, the shit will indeed hit the fan soon.
There's nothing gained by calling them rubbish on facebook, but everything gained when done properly, with a full report, health and safety certificates requested, local paper interest...who are already watching keenly to and were waiting until this suspicious project was completed.

I hope to see it being made good, safe and skateable, and Hayes not be left as a wasted dream, and the builders getting away with such a disgraceful installation.

Keep you posted once we have completed the reports.

T

Still seems odd that no one is commenting on a brand new park,wether good or bad.

[Twellsy]

I agree...!
It's all very strange

[TonyB]

God that looks awful Trevor, what a poor bit of finishing. Someone didn't have a clue what they were doing.

[Twellsy]

My thoughts are the only hope we have of getting its sorted is that it does not meet the spec on teh drawings...(im getting the full set tonight),,,so I can go through and see all the details...ie...coping depths, thickness of concrete...its finishing method etc....

no point just slagging it off....if the cash providers didn't get what they paid for...then they shall be the first ones notified...and so on.

[Alec]

And no point in blaming Jeremy, not his fault his design was badly built.

[Langton]

Just wish he could design a bowl with some flow to it. If your planning a trip you'll need a broom as it's surounded by gravel
.

[Twellsy]

there are funds to extend the park...so I think that will take up more of the surrounding soil...!

but, as for flow, well we think the huge supposed pump bump near the cradle...needs to be removed and made into a nipple to allow you to actually get around the bowled end, because as it is, you cant do it...if camo pete cant get in the cradle, nobody can!

[[email protected]]

When we tendered we offered to redesign it to make it work for free...

if anyone needs a copy of the plans and specification to build drop me a message

cheers

[Twellsy]

yes please...!

[TonyB]

Anyone got some decent pictures of the whole park?

[Twellsy]

There's a joke in there somewhere tony!
I have a growing collection of photos
But I need them for the report....
Might put a couple up tomorrow .....

[Twellsy]

Guys
Please go to the Facebook page of
Hayes skatepark user group
And add your comments there
The council want this to go away quietly
We need your support to help us make sure this gets sorted out!

Cheers
T

[Twellsy]

Hey Skateboarding friends,....despit a damning report issued to teh London Borough of Hillingdon...following a survey of the New Skatepark in Hayes...which highlighted many differences from the tender drawings and the actual finished park...with some issues possibly not meeting safety regulations .....(uh huh, you read that correctly)

There is to be a GRAND OPENING on Tuesday the 13th August ....(yup...the most convenient day of the week...a TUESDAY...!)

with the worshipful Mayor of Hillingdon there to proudly open the London Borough of Hillingdon's Newest Youth amenity.

Team Extreme are due to be there too, with a display, and to conduct lessons for the local youth....

I'm going to stop there, before I swear.....I fully intend to show you all the report, and its incredible findings...once we have had a reply from the LBH.....in order to not breach any confidentiality issues...or to give them any rope to fight back with.

If anyone is able to attend this event, please let me know ...(HBOYZ????)

I shall report back.....If I hear any more....

T

[camo pete]

This whole thing has my bullshit detecter flashing like crazy!
If the user group allow this to happen the box tickers will have won.This is your money that has been spent,those that spent it need to be made aware that they are accountable.You cannot have an opening event if the user group are not happy with the finished product.
Contact the Mayors office,then contact the local papers and tell them you have contacted the mayors office (whether the mayor replies or not).This should create enough of a shitstorm to get the cogs turning.
I would also try to get something happening on the sidewalk forum.

[Brian S]

Photo's of the full park would be good, then we can pronounce it a hit or miss!

[Twellsy]

Pete...very valid point...i'm getting frustrated....as I live 200 miles north and I'm simply cant get there to do stuff...the Lake farm committee...don't want to upset there relationship with "green spaces"....at this moment and have asked us to refrain from contacting the press...!!!

It's bullshit all round and I'm wondering just who is in who's pocket..

But....I've read the report (pm me your email Pete and I'll send it you...).....and if one day a kid has a fractured skull because he stacked it on the cradle...which has clear defects and does not meet the regs as it's not a uniform shape.....or someone's kid is cut to the bone rather than just a friction burn, bacause the surface is too rough, and once again that's a safety hazard...

It's pissing me off tbh.

I'm trying to get some backup from the other concerned folk in the user group, rather than be the lone ranger in contacting the press!

[Twellsy]

And so....the farce continues...

the LBH held their Opening event, with Team extreme, and the Mayor....

the newspaper article at least said the user group had concerns about the rough surface...!

We are still waiting from the LBH for a reply regarding the damning report that has been given to them on the state of the park...

not suprisingly...no reply as yet.

[TonyB]

Anyone got some decent pictures of the whole park?

Anyone?

[Brian S]

If the parks had it's opening day & press coverage showing it full of kids, as far as the local authority is concerned it's job done, we had a complete piece of crap built this year in Morley Leeds, same thing happened there, there is no real accountability or the will to do so.

[Alec]

Anyone got some decent pictures of the whole park?

Anyone?

Facebook

[TonyB]

Anyone got some decent pictures of the whole park?

Anyone?

Facebook

See a couple from Caught in the Crossfire. Don't do Faceache

[Twellsy]

I can email you some stuff Tony...sorry I've been busy and not on here...!