Stapleford Skatepark

Who are we?

Skate Nottingham are a non-profit CIC with a strong track record of fundraising and skatepark development, having being involved with 7 other successful skatepark projects in Nottinghamshire since 2018.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Broxtowe Borough Council are working with Skate Nottingham to support Stapleford skatepark users in their enthusiastic local campaign for a brand new concrete skatepark in Stapleford, following the closure of the previous Hickings Lane skatepark, a well-used wooden facility that had come to the end of its natural life. A new facility will be built in a nearby location that Broxtowe Borough Council have committed to identify with skatepark users & local residents.

After chatting about the campaign with 50-60 local skateboarders, residents & councillors at our initial community engagement event on the 19th August 2023, we launched an online survey where 92.8% of 125 respondents said they would like to see a new skatepark in Stapleford, despite only 44% identifying themselves as "skatepark users", which shows there is great support for the project from the wider local community.

Stapleford experiences significant pockets of economic and social disadvantage, and the successful bid for a Stapleford Town Deal also highlights the relative lack of high street amenities and services, made worse by business closures during the Covid-19 crisis. Broxtowe Borough Council and Stapleford Town Council are hugely committed to this skatepark project as part of the much needed regeneration and revitalisation of the town, especially in attracting and retaining young people and improving current residents' physical and mental health. 

Skate Nottingham led the successful campaign last autumn to fund Tram Line Spot (TLS) in central Nottingham (Sussex Street, NG1 7EZ ). With 231 amazing donors, we raised an incredible £16,730 in six weeks. This ensured our local area achieved the UK's first purpose-built 'skate friendly' city centre space, which opened in December 2022. It is now used weekly by hundreds of people of all ages. It has hosted large-scale events, creative workshops, ramp building lessons and horticulture sessions at the adjacent pop-up allotments, showing the hugely diverse, enriching range of activities that can happen when the whole community gets behind a project. 

The Crowdfunder for TLS enabled donors to select generous rewards from local companies including Forty Two Shop, Blend Coffee Shops, Stewarts of Trent Bridge Coffee Roasters, Rollersnakes and Supereight online skate stores. All these companies have kindly returned to support our new campaign, and we are so grateful for the support of Stapleford businesses who have pledged rewards so far: The Midland Hotel, Blend Barbers and The Old Cross Pub.

This new campaign is very different: whilst TLS was a nationally significant 'demonstrator project', that has attracted visitors from all over the UK and from other countries, Stapleford skatepark is incredibly important to the town of Stapleford and the people that live there. So it is fundamentally important that it prioritises local people: skatepark users, families, residents and businesses. For this reason it is amazing to to see such strong commitment from a wide range of Councillors as well as the MP, Darren Henry, and young skatepark users such as Kaenan Byrne, who have been campaigning for years for a modern concrete facility close to where he and his friends live.

231 people contributed to a Crowdfunder campaign for Tram Line Spot in Nottingham City Centre.

During this difficult time, with the Cost of Living Crisis and continued worries about the health of the economy, high street and household budgets, the biggest lesson from our last Crowdfunder campaign was that every donation, however small, matters hugely. The key is to create a crowd - so sharing this campaign as much as you can will make all the difference. With the Crowdfunder campaign for Tram Line Spot, we received coverage from Skateboard GB (the National Governing Body), local and national magazines and newspapers, local radio and TV news - and we'll ensure this all happens again with Stapleford skatepark, especially with the amazing enthusiasm and support already demonstrated by local people.

How we’ll spend the money raised

If we hit this Crowdfunder target of £12,000, this will achieve the first step in applying for bigger grants to make a new skatepark a reality. The funding from this Crowdfunder will not only go towards the costs of a world class skatepark, but will be the required 10% match funding for a Landfill Tax Capital Grant application for up to £100,000, which Skate Nottingham will support Broxtowe Borough Council to submit by early 2024. 

The total to be raised needs to be between £200,000 and £250,000 for a small-to-medium sized bespoke concrete skatepark, designed and built by one of the current market leaders in UK skatepark design & construction.

Ruddington skatepark in Rushcliffe is a good example of a modern concrete skatepark, for a similar budget.

Community impact

A new concrete skatepark in Stapleford would appeal to participants in all wheeled action sports, and be a key facility for people of all ages to be physically active in a social environment. User testimony often mentions increased benefits on mental health resulting from having a skatepark with a good community around it.

"My youngest son found the skatepark was an escape for him, and helped him through some tough times" - Cllr Sue Paterson

"A new skatepark has huge community benefits, and [skateboarding] is very inclusive." - Darren Henry MP

From our successful engagement day, and follow-up online survey, we know that a Stapleford skatepark would be used by a diverse range of users, including a broad range of ages, and skill levels from beginner to advanced. Responses to the engagement so far indicates that a mixed street and transition skatepark is preferred, with obstacles such as manual pads, hubbas, pyramids & jump boxes being identified as what local people enjoy most at other parks.

Broxtowe Borough Council have already committed to an activation programme once the skatepark is built - which could include coached skateboarding sessions, creative workshops, DIY skills workshops, women & girls' sessions, and skate competitions. These were some of the most requested types of activity on our survey, and tracks well with Skate Nottingham's previous surveys of skatepark users in Nottinghamshire in 2022 & 2023, where respondents pointed to skate jams, creative workshops, and DIY skills workshops as their most desirable activities, and new skatepark development as one of the most important things to be focused on. Regular activation and free enrichment for local skatepark users is an amazing way to build community around a new space.

Rewards

In return for your support for this campaign, there are plenty of rewards to choose from! Skateboards, shoes, coffees, clothing, and limited edition photo prints are just a few of the rewards you can select for your kind donations towards a new Stapleford skatepark.

Only one reward can be chosen at a time, so if you want to get your hands on several of the available goodies, simply donate again!

• Chances to win a pair of April Skateboards Nike SB Dunks (entries to prize draw)

• Red or blue flannel shirt by Oğlum

• DC Kalis Vulc Mid shoes - size UK 8
• DC Kalis Lite shoes - size UK 8

• Limited edition A3 photo print by Joe Walchester - Andrew Holt wallride
• Limited edition A3 photo print by Tom Quigley #1 - Theo Fearon nosebonk

• Limited edition A3 photo print by Tom Quigley #2 - Elliot Maynard 360 flip

• Limited edition A3 photo print by Milo Franchi - Alec Fenton wallride
• Limited edition A3 photo print by Miles Dyson - Tom at Tram Line Spot

• Element x Star Wars Millenium deck, 8"

• Free coffee at any Blend coffee shop in Nottingham
• 250g bag of Stewart's of Trent Bridge Ltd coffee

• Rampage Complete skateboard with free sticker
• Custom built deck planter by Grow Notts

• Bespoke planter by Grow Notts
• Bee Free wildflower seed spreader by Grow Notts

• Coping Mechanism book by Tony Wood
• Kids' 5 panel hat with embroidered Alph logo

• SmörgåsBOARD book by Josh Sutton
• Harry & Daisy Learn to Skateboard book by Craig Rothney

• Six Year Old Sidney - The skateboarding boy book by Dan Bryant
• 101 Uses for a Skateboard colouring book by Adam McEvoy

• DC Liner Socks 3 pack - black, white & grey
• DC Ankle Socks 3 pack - black

• FFWIH A5 print - "vegan birds"
• FFWIH A5 print - "turtle painting"

• DC Kalis OG x Butter Goods shoes - size UK 7

• Adidas Skateboarding Dennis Busenitz Black Leather - size UK 11.5
• Adidas Samba ADV Snowboard Boots - size UK 8.5

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a donation. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success! The faster we raise money towards our target, the more likely we are to secure match-funding from organisations like Sport England, which will really help us hit our target. 

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out on social media during the campaign and in our press releases to local and national news platforms once our Crowdfunder has finished. 

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

A huge thankyou to the local companies & businesses that have pledged rewards to support this campaign:

Supereight (supereight.net / @wearesupereight)
Forty Two Shop (fortytwoshop.co.uk / @fortytwoshop)
Rollersnakes (rollersnakes.co.uk / @rollersnakes)
Blend Coffee Shops (blendnottingham.co.uk / @blendnottingham)
Stewarts of Trent Bridge Roasters (stewartscoffee.co.uk / @stewartscoffeeuk)
The Old Cross pub
Blend Barbers (blendbarbers.co.uk)
The Midland Hotel (midlandhotelstapleford.co.uk)