Skatepark rolls out new ramp

An indoor skatepark in Darlington is set to introduce a new specialist training facility after a community fundraising campaign surpassed its target.

4Motion skatepark, based on Faverdale Industrial Estate, will install the North East’s first ‘resi quarter ramp’ after raising £13,000, including a £2000 contribution from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund.

The new ramp features a wooden take-off and a foam landing area designed to give skateboarders, BMX riders and scooter users a safer environment to practise more advanced tricks.

Work is expected to begin shortly, with the ramp scheduled to open by the end of June.

The 4Motion team hope the addition will encourage more young riders to stay and train in the North East, helping support aspiring athletes looking to follow successful names such as BMX rider Kieran Reilly and skateboarder Sky Brown.

The venue first opened in 2014 following a community campaign led by youth worker Nigel Potter to create a dedicated indoor skatepark for Darlington.

Today, 4Motion attracts more than 20,000 visitors each year and offers dedicated sessions for toddlers, younger riders and girls, alongside coaching programmes and community outreach activities.

Chief operating officer Olly Graham said: “A resi quarter ramp acts as a bridge between a foam pit and a hard wood landing, and allows riders to safely learn new tricks while being able to ride away when they land.

“As anyone who watched the Paris Olympics will have seen, the level of tricks that BMX riders and skateboarders are executing is getting higher and higher, but it takes time, training and lots and lots of practice to reach that point.

“Up to now, the nearest similar ramp to the one we’ll be installing has been in Manchester, meaning that North East riders who’ve wanted to access one as part of taking their routines to the next level have had to travel out of the region.

“While our new ramp will be open to all users and will be a great facility for everyone to use, we’re hoping that it’ll help encourage young riders who’ve got ambitions to get to the top of their sports to make more use of the enhanced facilities we’ll be offering.

“The funding we’ve had from Banks was the final piece of the jigsaw, and we’re now going all out to get the new ramp in place as quickly as we can.”

County Durham-based Banks Group’s funding forms part of the company’s wider community support activity linked to its proposed Beaumont Hill housing development near Darlington.

Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, added: “The 4Motion skatepark is already a brilliant community facility that’s really well used by local young people and this new ramp will give them even more opportunities to develop their skills.

“We’re very pleased to have helped 4Motion get their fundraising campaign over the line and look forward to seeing riders taking their places at the top of the ramp.”

The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).

Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via its website enquiry form, which can be found here.

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