Totnes Skatepark

Aim: Donate today and help to create an exciting new skatepark for Totnes and the surrounding area!

We need a new skatepark in Totnes, and we need your donations and support to make it happen!

Totnes is in dire need of a new skatepark. Once a hub of activity and community engagement, the current park has progressively deteriorated over the years. Its current state presents an unappealing sight and a safety risk to those who still use it. This once vibrant space has failed to keep pace with the growing demand for modern recreational facilities that can cater to our diverse and vibrant local community.

The redevelopment of the Totnes skatepark is more than just a construction project - it's about revitalising our community spirit, fostering inclusion, promoting physical activity, and giving the youth of Totnes a safe space to express themselves freely, and a place to be proud of.

Hit 'Donate' to help support the project, or if you need more convincing, read on (and then hit 'Donate'!).

The current Totnes skatepark

A plan of the new Skatepark design

Who we are, and where we’ve got to so far.

We are a diverse group from the local community, coming together to organise fundraising efforts and make this happen. 

Our mission is not just about raising funds for rebuilding the skatepark; it's about creating an environment where everyone feels welcome.

Young and old, skaters, non-skaters, business owners, local Community Interest Company SKATEtotheMAX, students, and councillors, united by a common goal, to get this new skatepark built!

The overall cost of the project will come in at approximately £250-300k.

There is already £4k in the bank from local fundraising, with a further £110k pledged by South Hams District Council, Totnes Town Council, and from Section 106 funding. 

Alongside this, our friends, and partners in this project, SKATEtotheMAX, have raised an additional 4k. 

That comes to a total so far of £118k, which is an amazing starting point to build from.

Further funding.

Various other Grant funding bodies will provide support, and notably Sports England who offer a match-funding grant of £10k, but this is dependent on reaching our target figure of £40k, so that's where you come in with your donations!

This Crowdfunder will take us to a point where we can then ask local councils and major national funding bodies to ‘top-up’, our account, to the required figure, by proving broad community involvement, desire, and passion for the project.

Don't feel left out, anyone can help, in any way.

While every single pound is important, don't feel that if you can't put money into the campaign, you can't help.

We invite all community members to join us in our endeavor. Whether you can donate funds, time, skills, or spread the word – every effort brings us closer to our goal. 

Let's come together and provide the youth of Totnes with a skatepark they deserve, a place that spurs their creativity, strengthens their bonds, and instils a sense of belonging in the community.

The heart of the community - a legacy

This project holds significant emotional value to many local people, as it will include a memorial for Max Hamilton - a beloved local Totnes skater who tragically lost his life at a young age. Funds were raised back in 2019 and we’ve been waiting for this redevelopment to start, to create an enduring tribute to Max's influential presence in Totnes's skating scene. Please go to SKATEtotheMAX for further information.

If you build it, they will come, but who will build it?

The design of the skatepark was developed from community consultation with the local skate community, and in partnership with the team at Maverick Industries.

Maverick has a track-record of developing modern and exciting skateparks, all over the UK. The link below takes you to a map of the parks they have created for communities:

Maverick Skatepark Map

Notable examples in the local area, are Paignton, Ashburton, and Buckfastleigh, and include a mini ramp in Broadhempston.

Paignton Skatepark - Image courtesy of Maverick Skateparks

What will the new skatepark look like? The Design.

The new skatepark will create a flowing, smooth concrete surface, perfect for wheeled sports, providing users of varying levels of experience with the opportunity to learn and improve their respective skills.

The space will provide various levels of ramped entry into the main park, allowing for those just starting their journey to enjoy the space, and then more experienced riders to progress and develop.

Alongside more ‘Street’ features, there will be a ‘Bowl’, which can be seen on the image and video below and is something lacking from the Skateparks in the locality.

The new park design 

What can you do?

Totnes urgently needs your support to upgrade its deteriorating skatepark into a safer recreational facility that meets our community's needs. By contributing to this community project, you are helping to create what will be a brilliant, community focused space, a happier and healthier future for our town, and showing your full support for the youth of the area.

• Donate, donate now! We’re laser focused on making this happen, and happen quickly, so anything you donate, however small WILL make a difference.
• Get out in the community and spread the word. Talk to friends, chat to family, push your employers to dip their hands in their pockets.
• Follow the socials. Get up to date news and info on how things are going, and what more you can do to help.
• If you’re a business, please offer any rewards you can for donations, however small, as everything helps!
• Create your own fundraising events, and we will help in any way we can, just get in contact if you want a hand.

Further reading on the opportunities and benefits the new skatepark will bring.

• Creates a new, accessible, and safe community sports facility, that is open to all, regardless of age, ability, experience, or background.
• Provides a multi-use facility, that works for a much broader range of users, including skaters, BMXers, Scooter riders, Inline skaters, and wheelchair users, among others!
• Provides the town with a free-to-use community space that can tap into the proven physical and mental-health benefits of sport and exercise.
• Opportunities to work with amazing local partners like SKATEtotheMAX to promote the importance of safety in all wheeled-sports.
• Makes a family-friendly space, linked to Borough Park's resident sports clubs (The Pavilion Leisure Centre, Totnes Rugby, Tennis, and Bowls Clubs), giving opportunity for people to involve themselves in the array of leisure opportunities that the Town has to offer.
• Creates a Skatepark that residents can walk to, or can use local transport systems, rather than having to drive to reach good quality Skatepark facilities.
• Strengthens the connection between the Skatepark and Muga area, making a high-quality, and vibrant youth focussed space.
• Increases the use of this facility – and therefore this general area of Borough Park – which is currently underused and undervalued.
• Makes a facility that inspires a sense of ownership, both in the way it is funded and developed, and by creating a space to be proud of, particularly for the younger members of the community.
• Develops a facility that will provide a space for workshop, coaching and training opportunities, and that can stage events for community groups and individuals who want an introduction to, or to improve their skills in their chosen sport.
• Provides more safety and security to the area, by making a skatepark that will dramatically increase the diversity of users of the park and give more natural ‘community policing’ of the area from morning to evening.
• Gives a space that can inspire younger members of the community and allow them to develop their skills in a way that provides a lifelong passion, and the ability to connect with others – and find connection and community – wherever they travel in the world.
• Proves how the amazing community of Totnes and the surrounding area can take on a project like this, make it happen, and give a blueprint for further improvements to the Town’s recreation facilities.

If you haven't hit the 'Donate' button already, do it now! Play your part in making something brilliant for our town, something we can all be proud of and will make our town better place!