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Finsbury Park’s skatepark is about to get much, much bigger, thanks to a community-led fundraiser that skyrocketed with an immaculate heelflip-720. According to Friends of Finsbury Park campaigners, the existing skatepark is not currently wheelchair accessible and is far too small for current demand, meaning it quickly becomes overcrowded.
A crowdfunder launched at the start of this year laid out a vision to build a new, open-to-all skate plaza, with space for bowls, street skating, scooters, bladers and bikers. The new space would be four times larger than the old, flowing from the two existing 20-year-old bowls on to a new 1,000 square metres of tarmac. It would also have more ramps, more obstacles and more places for you to fall over. Not bad.
‘We started the crowdfunder because we’ve known for a long time that the current skatepark is tiny,’ said Bethany Anderson, a trustee of the Friends of Finsbury Park volunteer group, who organised the fundraising. ‘Right next to the skatepark there’s this huge wasteland that’s been left there for 20 years. It was originally supposed to be for the skatepark, but money just never got prioritised to finish it.’
The crowdfunder has now raised more than £45,000 for the project – a figure that will be ring-fenced while the fundraising activities continue. £10,000 of the total came from Sport England and £15,000 from British Cycling, with the rest of the money donated by local businesses, residents, and a ‘Skateathon’ community fundraiser.
The group behind the campaign are now on a mission to raise £100,000, and Haringey Council has agreed to match-fund the total and lead the building works.
‘It’s going to really put Finsbury Park on the skating map,’ said Anderson. ‘And skateboaring is a really accessible sport. You can buy a skateboard for as little as a tenner, you don't need any lessons.’
Public community consultations are due to start at the beginning of next year. Construction is hoped to start by the end of summer 2022, with minimal disruption to the existing bowls.
You can donate to the Friends of Finsbury Park skatepark fundraiser here.
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