Thanet Council submits plans to turn derelict mini-golf site into skatepark
It was an unofficial skatepark before, but this one is set to be bigger and better.
Plans for a new skatepark on a “derelict” former mini-golf course have been submitted.
The former Little Oasis Crazy Golf Course site in Cliftonville, Margate, previously hosted an unofficial skating facility, but council bosses have now submitted plans for a much larger official one.
Off Ethelbert Crescent, the former crazy golf site has been “unused for a significant period of time,” according to planning application documents put in to Thanet District Council (TDC) by the authority itself.
It has become “overgrown and fenced off to the public,” the papers add.
For a period in 2013, the local skateboarding community occupied the vacant land and built their own skatepark, dubbed Little Oasis, after the former crazy golf course shut.
However, TDC deemed the park a safety hazard and demolished it in 2014.
Since then, a new skatepark for the town has been discussed, but official plans are now in place as part of the Margate Town Deal, a government-funded regeneration scheme for Thanet.
The council says it intends to build a “free-to-use concrete skatepark, alongside a community kiosk with a toilet,” which can also be used for other wheel sports such as BMX, wheelchair motocross, rollerblading and scootering.
Skatepark design experts Betongpark have been brought in to mastermind the facility.
“We have aimed to create an all-encompassing concrete skatepark that provides a low barrier to entry whilst remaining challenging and engaging for years to come, paired with a sympathetic and practical assimilation within the landscape,” they write.
The plans continue: “The skatepark is intended to attract a broad range of users and abilities, with beginner and introductory areas positioned in highly visible locations and a variety of spaces provided for different styles of wheeled sports.
“Universal access is ensured across the site, with particular focus on integrating skateable wheelchair friendly ramps around the skatepark and connections between concrete platforms.”
Cllr Alan Currie (Lab), who represents the area, welcomed the bid, saying: “I’m really pleased it’s come to planning now, it’s been a long time since we first saw and heard about the plans.
“It’ll be great for the community. We’ve really looked forward to it – Cliftonville West is a deprived area.
“It’s important we have something for young people in Cliftonville.
“It’s been left to sort of rewild, there’s quite a large variety of wildlife on the site.
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“The design team are taking that into consideration as well, so rather than being one large concrete mass they’re going to integrate some of the wild parts of the site so there’ll be some greenery and it won’t just be concrete.”
It is not yet known when TDC’s planning committee will decide on the bid, but a statutory deadline of October 15 has been set.