New skate park for Buckingham finally set to be installed... during summer holidays

Kids in Buckingham will find the town’s skate park out of action during the summer holidays, as that’s when the town’s long-awaited new skate park is set to be installed.

It is three years since Bucks Council agreed to provide £200,000 a new skate park for Buckingham, using Section 106 (S106) money received from developers, following a residents’ petition led by town councillor Jon Harvey.

The initial plan was for installation to begin in spring 2021. This was postponed until after the summer holidays in 2021, but then there was no progress until February this year, when Bucks Council said it expected work to start in May 2023, blaming the Environment Agency for the delays..

But in a further delay, it has now been announced that work is set to start this July and should be completed by October.

Bucks Council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, Clive Harriss, told the Bucks Herald: “We are unhappy about the delay the new Buckingham skatepark has faced due to the flood mitigation requirements, and keep working with our contractor Canvas Spaces Ltd to commence these works without any further delay.

"The contractor has apologised for the hold-up and confirmed that the skatepark is the next in line after their current project. The works are scheduled to start in July and expected to be completed in October 2023 – although this is subject to Canvas Spaces Ltd securing the required Environment Agency extension.

“While we agree that it’s unfortunate that the construction will now have to take place at this time, the alternative would be a further delay to delivering these eagerly anticipated new facilities, which will also impact users. We are fully committed to this project and thank all residents for their patience.”

Town councillor Jon Harvey, who led the campaign for a new skate park said: "After many years of delay, Buckingham's youngsters are finally getting the much-needed revamp of the local skatepark. Hooray!

"It is disappointing that the timing of the construction work will mean nowhere for them to go during the school holidays. Unless of course, Buckinghamshire Council can make a small miracle happen and arrange for a temporary skatepark to be provided during this time. We skate in hope."