Plans for indoor skatepark in Yapton met with waves of local support

If approved by Arun District Council, the skatepark will be built on 0.9 hectare site west of Yapton road and should feature road access, a car park and a 1,480 square metre centre for the skate park itself.

The plans come a year after the closure of The Base indoor skatepark on Shripney Road, which was forced to close up shop after a 50 per cent rent increase in the months after the pandemic. This new venture, launched by the team at Dropzone CIC, hopes to make up for the gulf left by the loss of that facility, providing young people and adults with a similar leisure service and a number of potential improvements.

"The closure of the Base skatepark (...) was a big loss to the community,” the planning design and access statement reads, pointing out that the closest similar facilities are now miles away: in Poole and Corby. “The proposal at hand looks to provide an improved version of this and provide children, teenagers and adults with the ability to practice extreme sports in a high quality, safe environment.”

The skatepark’s owners hope to produce a ‘like for like’ recreation of The Base in terms of design, layout and use, while making the most of a larger site, with scope for higher quality facilities like ramps, rails, half pipes and a foam pit.

Responding to news of the plans, most locals have been enthusiastic – writing into Arun District Council’s planning department to make their support clear.

"I think this will be a brilliant facility for the children of all the surrounding villages,” one letter says. “There is not enough locally for the children and there is no indoor skatepark in the area.”

Another says: “This will be a great asset to the village, especially with all the new houses. It will be great to have the kids and teenagers occupied with a hobby.”

To find out more about the plans, visit the Arun District Planning Portal and search for reference CM/25/23/PL.

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