An official opening event for Haddenham Skatepark, which is located on Haddenham Recreation Field was held on Saturday 1st June.
David Lyon, who had been Chairman of Haddenham Parish Council and the project manager whilst the skatepark was being developed and built had been invited to carry out the official opening duties. He said the provision of this skate park by the Parish Council demonstrated their commitment to encouraging sporting activity throughout the community by enhancing the facilities at every opportunity. The success of this project can be measured by the amount of use it gets.”
Several of the users of the facility gave demonstrations of their skills and these were appreciated by those present.
The idea of the project was formed back in 2016 when the old wooden skatepark had to be demolished due to it becoming unsafe and the Council was approached by two lads in the village about fundraising to build a new skatepark.
There then followed a quite lengthy process of public consultation, putting together ideas for a design, choosing a preferred design and working with that contractor to deliver what was wanted.
Once this was in place and the £100,000 budget set for the project the Parish Council applied for grant funding. This was also quite a lengthy process but well worth the wait with WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental) Ltd, but now known as FCC Communities Foundation Ltd, and Sport England both very generously granting £50,000 each towards the cost. Other costs have been covered by the Parish Council and Haddenham Recreation Charity.
Building work commenced in April 2018 and was completed in August 2018 and although the skatepark has been in use since that time this event was the official opening of the area and an opportunity to publicly thank both grant funding bodies and everyone else who was involved for making it possible to provide a state-of-the-art facility of this kind in Haddenham and indeed the district.
