New Skate Park in Stevenage Herts *Now with Pics*

[jedi]

the bowl at bowes went cos a kid nearly died getting stuck over night in it

[Bushwacked]

What - he could drop in OK but couldn't get back out?   

[jedi]

yeah climbed in at night when shut and the bowl was frozen apparently

[JT71]

can't wait for the park to be built, so Rob can arrange:

[pickle]

     

the old bowl was condemed as it was falling to pieces.

[kingkeef]

watch out for them steps in the bowl

 

Thats the swimming pool!

[josh_spratty]

does anyone know when this opens?
or if it is?

[stevenage kid]

Pickle I hope your well.  First time back on in years.  Doing some Stevenage searches and this come up.  Well for the record, sorry to barge in.  The park was wrecked in the mid nineties when the bowes centre manager could not be bothered to deal with issues in the park.  The bowl was fine so was half the freestyle area but because people used it to climb onto the balcony he chopped the whole thing away.  I believe the bowl is still intact below the soil but all the concrete from the shallow banks of the freestlye area was thrown in there.  The half pipe which had been heavily vandalised by fire finally got taken down and scrapped.  So we were left with 2 3rds of a park.

2004 ish county wanted to ROSPA  to inspect all parks etc and I was working there at the time.  At this point I enquired everywhere for somebody to do some concrete work.  One company quoted and therefore got the work.  What they did was very basic but also very expensive £55000.  So Bowes is still packed to this day at weekends with newbies coming through.  It was also badly lit cos some lamposts were moved and people just did not listen.

The new plans etc etc are personally wrong.  That is all they are plans.  Recently the company I work for now, designed developed a new concrete park in Houghton Regis. Small and simple bowls flat banks.  It cost about £115000 in total.  To roughly cost Jims plans will be in the region of £750000. and the money will come from where I ask!!

Why should it be moved away from the scared ground of Bowes.  People say because of this and that.  I know for a fact that the skatepark can be leased for virtuall nothing.  Fact is this Bowes skatepark should be rebuilt as it is simply old 30 plus years.  The new design should incorporate its history and move with the times.

No instead we want to take it to fairlands valley and completey disregard a potential grade 2 listed site.  I could say more but hey what do I know.  I grew up there from on and off till 94 then returned redeveloped and run comps there from 2003 - 2006. 

I have to leave it as it angers me loads.  One man is leading this agenda and he is short sighted and says he was there.  Well I never saw him throughout the years I was  there.  I can list many people on this site who I did meet.  But I am open for debate on this and would be quite happy to progress a counter idea for the redevelopment of bowes and not the "one man's agenda skatepark" and trust me he has no interest in bikes....

[pickle]

Hi ya Stevenage Kid, Bowes is a great old park and yes i used to live there from about 83 - 85 but from what my lad says the 'new park' has been shelved as they can't get the funding 

i agree with you though, they should redevelope Bowes and bring it back to life 

[Dr.Robotnik]

I don't know anythig about the histopry but any vintage obstacle is worth saving in my eyes.

As for the new plans there is no point in stairs in a skate park, they are all over the place, but skatepark obstacles aren't. Replace it with a flatbank or a quarter and you can still jump off the top to flat if that's your bag, but at least with a quarter or flatbank you get something more to ride and they are cheaper than stairs to build!