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Author Topic: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!  (Read 37239 times)

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #94 on: March 11, 2020, 06:33:37 AM »
Marple Skatepark Phase II start on site less than a month away!

Once again things have taken far longer than we'd hoped and expected but following a pre-start meeting with Canvas Spaces yesterday, we are now in a position to announce that Marple Skatepark Phase II construction will begin early next month.
 
Canvas will commence in April with a track being laid across the park for heavy traffic and access to their compound, which will be on the basketball court like it was during phase I. The track will cause some obstruction to park users but is essential to protect tarmac and grass from damage by heavy machinery. The basketball court and the old top section of the skatepark, plus the bank transitioning down, will be cordoned off with safety barriers during the works. Most of the lower section of the skatepark will remain open, so although work will be ongoing during the Easter school holidays, users will still be able to skate most of the lower level while the top section is being rebuilt.

After the top section of the skatepark is completed and Canvas have left site, a new contractor will follow-on with the works to resurface the basketball court, add fences and other new features to turn it into a modern MUGA (Multi-User GAmes) Facility.

The target is for all facilities to be reopened and the access track removed in good time for Marple Carnival on Saturday 20 June. Of course it will take longer for the grassed areas under the track to recover and for the flowerbed on the access route to be reinstated.

Please support Friends of the Park, Stockport Council and their contractors as we seek to complete the final stages of this long-term project begun in 2011 to create an outstanding new facility for the young people of Marple.

Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #93 on: October 17, 2019, 01:55:05 PM »
At last we have some skatepark news...

Phase II:
We listened to comments from users on the design for the top section refurbishment and decided to do something about them. Unfortunately this turned into a bigger job than we expected and we did some rework on the layout over the summer. We now have a final design that was submitted to the planners at the end of August as a minor amendment to the scheme granted in October 2018. After a longer than expected wait it was approved last week.

Here are some 3D images of that final design.



We now have to finalise details with the skatepark contractor and agree a programme of work. When we have a firm start date we will let you know.

ASB at the Skatepark:
Not such good news is that a resident felt it necessary to contact the Council, Friends of the Park and MP William Wragg about anti-social behaviour at the skatepark over the summer. This arrived just after the August bank holiday weekend, when problems included a shopping trolley being set on fire in the park. The resident's concerns included mess, vandalism and noise at the skatepark and the matter was also raised as a public question at Marple Area Committee on Wednesday 25 September 2019.

A meeting was convened between Local Councillors, Council Officers and Friends of the Park on 30 September, when a number of actions were discussed and agreed.

Those actions include:

An existing CCTV camera will be relocated so that it covers the skatepark and sports area (this was recommended by Friends of the Park in December 2017 but progress has been slow. It is now being treated more urgently). Signs will also be fitted at the skate area/sports area notifying users that the area is under CCTV surveillance.

Stockport Council is working closely with the Neighbourhood Policing Team to monitor anti-social behaviour in the park and the wider Marple area. The policing team are aware of the increased reports of ASB in and around the skatepark and will increase patrols and surveillance as their resources allow.

Local councillors have carried out a programme of engagement with students at Marple Hall School to talk with them about responsibilities within the community. The feedback from councillors is that they were very well received by students and teachers at the school because they focused on how things can be made better for everyone rather than seeking to apportion blame. One quick outcome was Friends of the Park had skatepark users volunteer to help pick up litter during their last task day.

It has been agreed that additional trees will be planted as part of phase II to increase the screening of the skatepark along the canal-side boundary of the park too.

Other skateparks across the region and the country have been successful, like ours, in providing much needed activity for young people who otherwise have little to do. It's also a valuable source of outdoor exercise, may lead people into it as a sport and is a great social thing for youngsters and parents alike. Sadly skateparks in some areas have met so much opposition from residents they have been dismantled. This would be tragic for Marple ... let's all do our best to ensure there's no call for that here!





Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

rsh

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #92 on: May 30, 2019, 10:46:47 PM »
The skatepark is great. I’ve noticed though that at busy times the path next to it is becoming blocked not just by parents and kids watching but various scooters/bikes dumped along it. I’ve been having to cycle this way to avoid the canal works and sometimes it’s impossible to even walk by - and of course I’m the one who gets glared at for daring to exist. I wonder if any thought could be given to a kind of viewing or seating area to overlook the skatepark, freeing up the very useful path which is now far too narrow. Similar to the benches facing the bowling green I suppose.

In Torkington Park Hazel Grove they’ve also got a good idea where there’s a second “bikes only” path which veers out away from a kids play area, diverting people on bikes away from stationary parents and kids (the park also has a proper marked cycle route across it which works very well). As the skatepark gets busier and busier something like this will be necessary so everyone can still enjoy the park without conflicting.

Dropped pin
Near Hazel Grove, Stockport
https://goo.gl/maps/1Kvu2GTxuoXY9HEGA

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #91 on: May 19, 2019, 10:04:34 AM »
News on Marple Skatepark Phase II:

We have been waiting for some considerable time to get a confirmed start date from the Council's Greenspace Team and the contractor Canvas Spaces who upgraded the skatepark for us in 2017 and will carry out the Phase II skatepark works (not the MUGA - that will be done by a different contractor after the skatepark works are completed).

The options most recently being considered were to start immediately after the Carnival and complete by the end of July, or, if that was not possible, to wait until after the school summer holidays. We were advised earlier this week that the start has now been revised to after the school holidays. A pre-construction meeting is to be arranged for August, after which we should be able to tell you more.

It is frustrating how long this is all taking but please bare with us - it should be worth it in the long run. In the meantime, we hope users enjoy the skatepark over the summer and stay safe!

Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #90 on: November 09, 2018, 02:21:38 PM »
But many people will never feel safe using the path without a fence to protect them from the fast-moving children on dangerous bikes etc equipment.

Then they can access the court across the grass, which is what most people will do anyway.
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #89 on: November 09, 2018, 11:55:22 AM »
these would be people using the path to go and play basketball on the court, yes? and you think such people will be frightened by bikes? Do you ever walk along the pavement, next to the road used by articulated lorries and cars which are FAR more likely to kill or injure you than a bike?
NBT: Notoriously Bad Typist

ringi

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #88 on: November 09, 2018, 11:50:50 AM »
No, this is not necessary according to RoSPA regulations. The regulations require a 2m distance between a path and the nearest obstacle. We are complying with this.

But many people will never feal safe using the path without a fence to protect them from the fast-moving children on dangerous bikes etc equipment.

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #87 on: November 08, 2018, 04:49:15 PM »
Will the footpath be fenced so people feel safe walking along it?

No, this is not necessary according to RoSPA regulations. The regulations require a 2m distance between a path and the nearest obstacle. We are complying with this.
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

ringi

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #86 on: November 08, 2018, 04:35:56 PM »
Will the footpath be fenced so people feel safe walking along it?

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #85 on: October 17, 2018, 11:11:52 AM »
AT LAST! Planning permission for Marple Skatepark Phase II has been granted!

The planning application submitted in December last year was finally granted by Stockport Council yesterday. The plans are for improvements to the small top section of the existing skatepark and the transition to the lower section; plus resurfacing of the existing basketball court and additional fencing, turning the court into a modern Multi-User-GAmes facility (MUGA).

The process has taken a long time because comments objecting to the plans submitted in December were received. Of these comments, the planners decided that one in particular needed to be addressed. This was that “there would be no hard-standing access to the new sports area (existing basketball court)” once the improvements were completed.

This has taken considerable time to reach a satisfactory conclusion, as the only way to provide this without restarting the planning process from scratch was to create a new footpath within the footprint covered by the existing planning application. This forced us down the route of adding a footpath along the top edge of the skatepark area (the strip shaded a peachy colour in the 3D visual).

Unfortunately, RoSPA regulations for skateparks stipulate that you cannot have a footpath closer than 2 metres from a skatepark obstacle or feature. This meant that we effectively lost a 3 metre usable strip in total from the top section of the skatepark. The loss of this space meant that we had to make significant changes to what we had originally hoped to do with the top section design, as you will see if you compare the approved plans with what was originally submitted.

But, we are where we are, and at last it's approved and we can move forward.

The next stage is to firm up the costs for the whole of Phase II. Discussions are ongoing with the skatepark contractor to confirm their costs for the skatepark element and to satisfy the council's procedures for a single tender action. The MUGA element of the works is expected to go out on competitive tender before Christmas and once we have both prices finalised we will know how much money we need to undertake the full works planned.

The really good news is that £85,000 of Formal Sports Commuted Sums has been approved by the council for this scheme. We won't know for a while if this is quite enough to do the whole project but if not, it will certainly be a very significant proportion of it. Obviously once we know, and if there is a shortfall, we will look for ways to raise any extra money that is needed.

It may interest Marple people to know that the formal sports commuted sums have come from the Morris Homes development on Hibbert Lane.

Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #84 on: December 28, 2017, 05:55:03 AM »
The planning application for the Skatepark Phase II / MUGA is now on the planning portal: Planning Portal Link
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #83 on: December 15, 2017, 06:38:23 AM »
It's been pretty quiet from Marple Skatepark Development Project for a while. We hope everyone's been enjoying the new skatepark while we've been beavering away with the council and Canvas Spaces behind the scenes. We are now pleased to be able to advise that (at last) a planning application for Marple Skatepark Phase 2 was submitted for approval yesterday. Once the plans are on the Planning Portal we'll provide a link.

The scheme is the one we displayed at the Carnival in the summer and features improvements to the small top section of the skatepark plus resurfacing of the basketball court, turning it into a Multi-User-GAmes facility (MUGA).

It is important to understand that we don't have the money for this yet. We will need around £75k to make it happen. But the planning application is the first essential step on the way to being able to make further progress.

We'll give you more news when we have it. In the meantime, we encourage users to keep enjoying the new skatepark, treat it well and respect all users and other visitors to the park.



Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #82 on: June 17, 2017, 08:00:56 AM »
Come along to the Team Extreme Event at Marple Carnival today and check out our ideas for the top section of the skatepark and the basketball court, which we'd like to turn into a MUGA (multi-user games) facility.

We're going to need around £75k to do this though and of course we haven't got any of that yet!
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #81 on: June 16, 2017, 04:25:29 PM »
A masterclass in how to take it to the wire but Stockport Council has delivered on their promise to get the new double bin installed in time for Marple Carnival!

Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Re: Marple Skatepark Fund-raising target of £100,000 Reached!
« Reply #80 on: June 14, 2017, 08:53:37 PM »
Today we have mostly been painting and stencilling the old skatepark ramps to match the new part (and the seating installed yesterday).

We wanted to get this done before Team Extreme Event at Marple Carnival. Hope you like it?



Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website