Dunstable SkatePark

by **mrrobgee** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:36 pm

Found out through facebook that they have secured the money (£250,000) and asked them if they had put it out to tender and they replied

Great news about a skate park for Dunstable. We can confirm that land behind Go Bowling has been allocated together with funding of nearly £250,000. The park will be managed by us. We have today sent out tender documentation to a number of established skate park companies. Any other interested companies can email us at [email protected]

So if any companies have been missed you can email above

by **TonyB** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:42 pm

I hope they didn't include Blakedown in that tender list, we know they fuck things up and don't care.

by **mrrobgee** » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:58 pm

Being trying to find out some details and companies but haven't heard anything back as of yet. Tried to see if California Skateparks would be interested and dropped them a mail will its at the tender stage but not sure how much 250k buys in the term of park.

The space proposed is about the size of a football pitch so here's hoping.

by **mrrobgee** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:04 pm

Had a little update from the council today

This week we shortlisted the following companies to present on Tuesday 25 February:

Gravity
Maverick
Freestyle
Canvas
Acrete
Wheelscape

Anyone have any feedback on those ?

I am off to google now as to see if I can do some research !

by **Brian S** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:08 pm

I was told Acrete had gone bust a while back, they built Girlington & aren't Gravity causing a lot of complaints about the new poor quality Livingston extension

by **HarryR** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:53 pm

From designs I've seen Maverick seem to come up with the most interesting stuff

by **Nosepickin with a cobra** » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:33 pm

Maverick parks are my favourite by far. Pretty sure I've skated a few good Wheelscapes too.

Churchills new company 'one skateparks' seem to look alright too.

by **mrrobgee** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 5:13 pm

Thanks guys

Got a sneaky look at the proposal's today and Mavericks plans did stick out, Its going to have floodlights as well so help in the long drawn out nights

by **Nomis** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:31 pm

That's great news on the park funds and it moving ahead. My mum lives near Harpenden so Dunstable is very doable.

by **mrrobgee** » Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:24 pm

Just been posted on facebook

Exciting news on Monday Dunstable Town Council approved the appointment of Maverick Industries Ltd, to build the skate park behind Go Bowling at Grove Park. For further information please visit. http://www.dunstable.gov.uk/dunstable-skate-park.htm

So looks like a busy year for Maverick

by **mrrobgee** » Mon Mar 31, 2014 5:56 pm

Looks like the first consultation meeting is this week with Maverick so hopefully will be able to clear my work schedule as its starts at 17:30 and see the latest plans

by **mrrobgee** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:39 pm

Just spent a couple of hours with the guys from Maverick and they have hit the ground running

A few tweaks and it will be good to go

by **TonyB** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:24 pm

Got any pictures/plans of the new park?

by **mrrobgee** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:02 am

Tony

Just waiting for the plans to be adjusted as they are making some amendments to the street section but that does have some fun looking quarters etc to use. The bowl will be will be about 6-7 feet deep with a couple of extensions around the sides . Looks like it will suit the more mature carvers , with quite a few lines to explore and they will be installing floodlights for early morning / late night sessions

I will post some pics when I can

by **ukoldschool** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:29 pm

I'm disappointed, there were better designs IMO.
maverick build a good park but fuck me they are all exactly the same! They never do anything new....

by **camo pete** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:14 am

One thing that always bothers me is why do they put steps in the coping on the bowl.Do they serve some purpose? For me,all they seem to do is to cut your line short and provide a convenient place for people to sit/leave bags/collect rubbish.Surely escalating the coping makes more sense.
Also,the steps in the street section are going to serve exactly the same purpose too.

by **mrrobgee** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:40 am

The design that is posted is the original pre the amendments that are to be made. The street part is being adjusted and I think the steps are going but I haven't seen the final design as its not been completed yet. The actual land that has been obtained by the council is not that large and has a natural bank on it so the have utilised the lay of the land for the top bowl section.

by **mrrobgee** » Tue May 20, 2014 1:27 pm

: Plans

The design has now been signed off (well as of last week but we had to wait for the council to publish this officially which they have just done).

Slight changes have been made to the bowl since the picture above (not really bothered with the rest)

by **Piers C** » Wed May 21, 2014 4:53 pm

Liking the look of this. Do you know if they planned finish date yet Rob?

by **Brian S** » Wed May 21, 2014 5:10 pm

That bowl looks nice, I wish someone would build a decent park in my region

by **duck** » Wed May 21, 2014 5:25 pm

Nice, that's the same company that made the one near me and it's a great park. Also the surface material they used is great, it dries out really fast which is good if the weather's mixed.

by **mrrobgee** » Wed May 21, 2014 5:26 pm

Latest dates are start in July completion in October if the weather stays ok in summer . Lights are being installed but we are still awaiting confirmation as to what time they will be available to.

by **mrrobgee** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:09 pm

Latest News

I hope you are all well and that you have had a good summer. I just wanted to let you all know that on Friday full planning permission was granted for the skate park, which has meant that Maverick have been able to confirm that the construction will commence on Monday 15 September 2014. I will of course keep you up to date with progress, and I know a couple of you would like to be introduced to the site team, and I will be arranging this for those of you who have expressed an interest.

The main way in which you can help ensure that we have a smooth build period and keep to our time scale, is to educate and inform others that attempting to use the skate park before it is complete is a bad idea all round. It can delay the build, increase costs and can also be dangerous. I would really appreciate it if you could get this message out there through your social media platforms to informally police this activity by responding to comments and activities by discouraging this behaviour.

As always should you have any specific questions or comments please do ping me an email or give me a call.

In the meantime, thank you all for your support and I’m pleased to say that we most definitely are very close to getting the skate park that Dunstable deserves.

Regards,

Becky Wisbey - Head of Community Services
Dunstable Town Council, Grove House, 76 High Street North, Dunstable, Bedfordshire. LU6 1NF

by **mrrobgee** » Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:43 am

Its started

Just been back to the site and they have started to clear the area , lets hope that we have a good few months of dry weather but looks like it will be Jan before its ready

by **mrrobgee** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:36 pm

They have started to pour the concrete, roll on next year

by **mrrobgee** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:47 pm

Getting Closer

by **HarryR** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:54 pm

That looks great :-)

by **mrrobgee** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:09 pm

There is other areas to the park but this is the most interesting part for me

Should be ready in about 4-6 weeks now as long as the white stuff don't hang around for to long

by **Brian S** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:50 pm

Looking good, another bloody road trip to add to the ever growing list not not getting very far ! :lol:

by **mrrobgee** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:09 am

We got some changes to the final design and instead of the extension on the bowl we got them to go down and add a little water fall

The Taco looks like it might be a challenge !

by **HarryR** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:30 pm

That deep bowl looks like it might be a bit tight.

by **mrrobgee** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:38 pm

HarryR wrote:That deep bowl looks like it might be a bit tight.

Yeah it looks a little tight and whippy, would say its actually just a little bigger than the xc pool but its hard to judge .

Hopefully my old knees will be able to cope !

by **TonyB** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:14 pm

HarryR wrote:That deep bowl looks like it might be a bit tight.

That was my thought when I saw the pictures.

Well done on getting them to add a waterfall.

I haven't ridden a Maverick built park yet so looking forward to giving it a go when it's done. Hope the local graffiti artists leave it alone.

by **mrrobgee** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 5:37 pm

Well the time is finally here it gets its official open on the 21st of March

Its 95% complete today as had a walk round the site with one of the Maverick builders as they are happy with the park and proud to show it off. The bowl is bigger and deeper then it looks in the pictures but looks like a lot of fun . They have made some alterations to the street section and the quarter now goes to vert. I forgot my camera this morning but will get a few shots and some action shots soon.

by **mrrobgee** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:44 pm

I think that that its open Monday to give people chance to sort out a few lines for next week when the official opening jam is happening !

by **camo pete** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 9:58 am

Had a skate of the bowl last week as one of my mates is involved in the build.
Very fast,you will need to keep your wits about you.Strange,at first,that the hip is set back from the waterfall but it is pretty easy to get used to.The street course was still being finished off,so I only got to skate the quarters.The whole thing looks and feels a lot of fun.

by **mrrobgee** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:31 pm

Cheers for the info Pete

Time to update my saga insurance then !

by **TonyB** » Sun May 03, 2015 4:20 am

Checked it out today. Nicely built and very smooth(almost to smooth), no buried coping.... :mrgreen:

Definitely worth a visit

by **mrrobgee** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:10 am

TonyB wrote:Checked it out today. Nicely built and very smooth(almost to smooth), no buried coping....

Definitely worth a visit

Tony you should have let me know you was popping over as would of popped back down for a catch up. We usually have the bowl to ourselves most weekend mornings as tends to get busier later on.

Yeah its pretty smooth but as Tony said well worth a visit.

by **TonyB** » Sun May 03, 2015 1:32 pm

We should get a few together for a session, football season is nearly over.

by **mrrobgee** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:20 pm

TonyB wrote:We should get a few together for a session, football season is nearly over.

Sounds like a plan, I will get in contact with some of the potters bar lads and see if we can arrange something as I am sure we can get something sorted

by **GarethV** » Mon May 04, 2015 9:42 pm

I'm up for this. Maybe next Sunday if its dry

by **Piers C** » Tue May 05, 2015 10:15 am

I'm up for it. We skated it the other week and it rocks!

by **mrrobgee** » Tue May 05, 2015 11:43 am

I will see who is about as not around for a couple of Sundays but will be their Saturday mornings, would be nice to catch up with everyone again

by **SimonB** » Tue May 05, 2015 1:10 pm

I would be keen on visiting and it would be great to catch up with you Rob

Where is it in Dunstable, or do you have an approximate postcode for it ?

by **mrrobgee** » Tue May 05, 2015 7:05 pm

Court Drive, behind Go Bowling. LU5 4JD

The route I would take is Junction 9 on the M1, down the A5 as its more a less 10 minutes from junction 9.

Piers give us a shout if your ever over this way and I will pop down if I am around for a catch up.

by **SimonB** » Wed May 06, 2015 9:55 pm

Cheers Rob, I think I know roughly where it is and am very familiar with Junction 9 ~ not because of the "exotic dancers" I hasten to add, but from lots of trips to Whipsnade with the kids :lol:

Whats the parking situation near the skatepark ?

Looking forward to checking it out and catching up ~..

by **mrrobgee** » Thu May 07, 2015 6:51 am

Parking is good and free Sunday and bank holidays, otherwise depending what time you are there you might have to stick a pound in the meter, as a few people have been slapped with a ticket.

by **TonyB** » Fri May 29, 2015 2:18 pm

Heading up tomorrow about 11.30 am with Craigee as long as it's dry.

by **mrrobgee** » Fri May 29, 2015 2:43 pm

Will be down early in the morning tomorrow (07:30 onwards which is a bit to early for you ) , as got to take my son out at 12:00 . I might pop down for 15 minutes and catch up before I go if you are going down

by **mjlally** » Fri May 29, 2015 7:50 pm

I'll be in the vicinity next week for work so will have to try and get over to skate this.

by **GarethV** » Fri May 29, 2015 8:22 pm

Can't do tomorrow but will head over early one weekend soon.

by **mrrobgee** » Sat May 30, 2015 3:38 pm

Tony , real sorry could get back down to see you as had a bit of a family issue with my mother which meant having to go and see her. Hope you had a good skate as the weather was just about right today.

Next time ....

by **TonyB** » Sun May 31, 2015 2:52 am

No problem. We had a nice day.

by **TonyB** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:15 pm

Weather permitting will be heading up Saturday 13th about 11.30 am.

by **mrrobgee** » Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:51 am

Sorry been working away on sites that don't allow internet access and mobiles. I should be back and about Saturday lunch time so hopefully catch up then

by **mrrobgee** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:02 am

No chance today as the weather has put an end to any skating as its still raining over here

by **TonyB** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:41 am

Yes we have come to the same conclusion. BLOODY FUCKING SHITTY WEATHER.

ITS SUPPOSED TO BE SUMMER FFS!

Rant Over.

by **mrrobgee** » Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:45 am

Yeah hope its not going to be another one of nice all week when working come to the weekend and its crap.