My name's Stu and I moved to Repton in 2019. During the pandemic I started to look for things for the kids to do in the village and realised we had very few options. Plenty of beautiful walks, abundant football pitches, but the play equipment for young children is limited in variety and amount around the village, plus the playground at Mitre Field is very, old and in need of work or replacement. Beyond these facilities there is little else for children to do. I am a keen cyclist and having a stepson who was really motivated to learn skateboarding and BMX, I looked at local provision to find none locally that he could get to by himself safely.
I spoke to the Repton Parish Council and, to cut a long story cut short, I have joined the Parish Council to help improve things for the young people of our village!
Next was to agree what we would like, and where we should we put it. We blew the dust off an old survey that highlighted that a BMX and skate park would be a welcome idea. We thought a nice idea would be to combine the two and build a Pump Track. We have surveyed the village again and the vast majority are in favour of building one.
What is a pump track?
A pump track is a looped circuit of humps, bumps, rollers and banked turns designed for 'riders' to generate momentum by 'pumping' their bodies up and down rather than pedalling or pushing.
Pump tracks are:
- Fun and accessible: Suitable for all ages and abilities, from toddlers on balance bikes to professional BMX riders
- Easy to use
- Suitable for, bikes, skateboards, roller skates, scooters, BMXs, wheelchairs and essentially anything you can ride or roll on
- Good for learning: A great way to improve handling skills
- Promote interaction: Small areas that encourage riders to interact with each other
- Safe: The pumping action helps riders control the risk
Mitre field was the obvious location: it is in the centre of the village, co-located with the Scout Hut and JOGS, adjacent to the current council-maintained facilities and, even more helpfully, has space available that would not impinge on existing users or use.
The Mitre Field is held in trust by the Repton Recreation Ground charity (charity number: 509372) and I am now a trustee. “The objective of the charity shall be the provision and maintenance of a recreation ground for the benefit of the inhabitants of Repton, and, in particular, but not exclusively, those of the said inhabitants who are children under the age of 14 years, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants." We, the trustees, feel that a Pump Track meets this brief perfectly, as do the vast majority parishioners who completed the recent survey.
Our aim is to create a safe place for children of all ages and abilities to learn, improve and enjoy being active. We aim to create a fun and safe environment where there is a flat area where parents can teach children to ride bikes, skate, roll or slide without fear of being on the road. The design will enable all levels and experience to have fun and progress their skills. The design and more information can be found here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/build-a-pump-track-on-mitre-field
We need as many people as possible to donate to this crowdfunding. You can donate as much or as a little as you wish, as a certain supermarket once said, "every little helps"! Many grants look at how many people donate not just the amount raised when considering us for grants. The more pledges we have will help us access grants from other funding sources. You can always donate a small amount now and another amount later. All the funding raised by this crowdfunding less Crowdfunder’s admin charges (of zero platform fees and transaction fees of 2.4% +£0.20 +VAT per transaction) will go towards building the pump track. Your money is safely held by Crowdfunder. Please see Crowdfunder's terms and conditions.
The track will cost £78,900 to which we would like to raise as much money towards from this Crowdfunding. We have plans to bridge any shortfalls to this cost from other sources, to ensure the project is a success and the track gets built. We have appointed a builder, conducted a consultation event, run a survey and done an ecological assessment and are now progressing with a planning application so it’s full steam ahead. The Crowdfunder will run for six months rather than to a target value.
I hope you find this project as exciting as we do, please pledge your support and any donation is gratefully received.
Cheers, Stu
This crowdfunding is organised by the trustees of the Repton Recreation Ground charity (charity number: 509372).