City skatepark begins search for new home

The owners of a skatepark that has closed to make way for a footbridge in Nottingham have begun the search for a new home.

Flo Skatepark will be demolished later this year in order for Nottingham City Council to install a new pedestrian and cycle bridge.

The site in Poulton Drive closed before Christmas.

The Flo Charitable Trust, which runs the site, expects demolition to begin in February or March.

It said it hopes to find a new indoor space elsewhere in the city to restart the club by September.

Mark Deans, chairman of the trust, said: "We've got lots of different avenues we're pursuing at the moment.

"We've got a business plan to build our own skatepark if we can find some land.

"There's a short-term plan to find some 'meanwhile' use and there's a long-term plan where hopefully we'll bring to Nottingham a purpose-built skatepark."

More than 15,000 users are registered with the club, which operated from its former home for a decade.

The centre has produced a number of top skateboarders, including Nottingham's Miriam Nelson, who was the UK Women's champion in 2022 and 2023.

"I would never have got as far as I have without this place," she said.

"I've been coming here for eight years and I've progressed so fast because of all the community. Everyone has been so encouraging and it's been so helpful."

Landlord of the site, Blueprint, had been renting the unit to the trust for a "pepper corn" rent of £1 a month.

A statement said: "The team has been amazing to work with and we will continue to support Flo in any way we can in the future.

"We look forward to seeing Flo's next chapter animate and bring life to another part of the city."

The 85m-long bridge, linking the Trent Basin area in Nottingham with Lady Bay in Rushcliffe, is set to become the first new river crossing built in the city in more than 65 years.

The bridge was originally due to be completed by spring 2023, but the project has faced repeated delays.

In October, a new report also said it could cost up to £18m - nearly double the original £9.275m budget.

Professor Carrie Paechter, an expert in childhood, youth and family life at Nottingham Trent University, said centres like Flo, which used to run dedicated skate nights for girls and women, help make the sport more accessible.

"It can be quite difficult skating on the streets," added professor Paechter. "So places like Flo are really, really important to them.

"They're indoors, they're comparatively safe, you can find a community there.

"They run girls nights so you can actually find other women to skate with, which is quite difficult on public skateparks."

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