Harrow Skate Park

Harrow Skate Park or Harrow Solid Surf is one of the few remaining working seventies shotcrete skateparks in the UK. It is located next to Harrow Leisure Centre in Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is one of the most noted skateparks in the UK and has been compared to other classic seventies skatepark designs such as Marina del Rey (Los Angeles) and "Pipeline" (Upland, California) in the USA. [The City Cultures Reader (Routledge Urban Reader) by Malcolm Miles and Tim Hall (Routledge 2003), page 43.]

The skatepark's planning began in 1976 and it opened in 1978 and is a noted tourist attraction. [ [http://www.visitharrow.co.uk/ccm/navigation/blitz-boredom/leisure-facilities/ Harrow Tourism on the Skate Park] ] It was designed by G-Force designer Adrian Rolt and was built by Skate Park Construction, the leading skateboard park construction and design team in the UK at the time. Its pool design was based on the keyhole pool at Skateboard Heaven in Spring Valley, California. [Iain Borden, Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body, (Berg, 2001) p.70-1]

Current features include a Half-pipe, the snakerun, and 4 Moguls, but the performance bowl was filled in a number of years ago. The park did have other recent additions such as a Mini ramp, but that was destroyed by local vandals. The park operates free of charge and is open from 9.00am till dusk.

The local skateboarding and BMX scene is very friendly and locals use the park as a place to hang out and socialise as well as ride the ramps. Since the seventies the park has been the starting ground for a number of professional skaters and BMX users such as Steve Douglas. Its significance has been noted by the leading architectural historian Professor Iain Borden who said it was used in the eighties by "the best-known London skaters and 'H-Boyz' (Harrow regulars)". [Iain Borden, Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body, (Berg, 2001) p.124.] It has been threatened with closure on a number of occasions and was out of action for a few years in the eighties. In 2003 it was reopened after the Council spent £60,000 refurbishing it and its opening celebration was attended by the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority Toby Harris, Baron Harris of Haringey and Harrow East MP and Minister for London Tony McNulty. [ [http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/search/display.var.384487.0.bets_skatepark_reopens.php "Harrow Times" "Bets skatepark reopens" 20th June 2003] ]

Threat of Closure

In the year of 2007 plans were announced by Harrow council to build over the site as part of a £36m project to rebuild Harrow Leisure Centre, with a new smaller building, leading to storm of protest from users and the international skateboarding community who regarded it as 'irreplaceable'. [ [http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/search/display.var.1846998.0.1970s_skate_park_irreplaceable.php "Harrow Times" 1970's skate park 'irreplaceable'] ] The plan involved selling the existing site to developers. Although the Council was offering £300,000 to replace the park experts have said it will cost at least £600,000 to replace the park. [ [http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/search/display.var.1870314.0.new_skatepark_could_cost_double.php "Harrow Times" New skatepark could cost double] ] The famous skater Tony Hawk stated on the closure "If they feel that the park is truly irreplaceable, then they should keep it...I've never been, but I have seen it in magazines and heard about it through the years." [ [http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2004649.mostcommented.tony_hawk_keep_skatepark.php "Harrow Times" Tony Hawk: "Keep skatepark" 30th January 2008] ] On February 6th, 2008 Sport England condemned the Leisure centre plan:

"Sport England considers the proposals to be damaging to a wide range of existing sporting interests and they would reduce opportunities for participation in sport and active recreation in the borough." Mr Durrans supported the objections already voiced by various sports groups in the borough, including Harrow and Wealdstone Swimming Club, Harrow Squash Club, Wembley and Harrow Table Tennis League and the Harrow Skatepark Users' Association. [ [http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.2022933.0.sport_england_slams_leisure_project.php "Harrow Times" Sport England slams leisure project] ]

A petition to the Prime minister against the closure has received over 1,970 signatures: "It is under stood that Harrow Skate Park is to be bull dozed to build houses on but since 1976 this has been part of the history & heritage of Roller Skating, Skateboarding and BMX biking not only in Harrow but also internationally." [ [http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/HarrowSkatePark/ Petition to the Prime minister against the demolition of Harrow Skate Park] ]

New Leisure Centre Plans Abolished

In October, 2008 it was revealed that Harrow Councils plans to demolish the park and build a new leisure center had been abolished. The plan was to sell land in and around the site of Harrow Leisure Center, where the skatepark is based, to fund a new building and skatepark. However, with house prices dropping the council could not generate the money it needed due the the economy. James Hitchcox, a BMX rider and vice president of Harrow Skatepark Users Group, said:

"It's brilliant. I'm just absolutely over the moon. I hope it stays there for another few years and they don't say 'we've got a bit of money now, so we can knock it down'." [Harrow Times Newspaper, October 2, 2008, Page 5 ]

Harrow Councillor Marilyn Ashton has blamed the cancel of regeneration of the leisure center on the poor condition of the housing market – and the plans may now have to be shelved until the council can raise the money. She said:

“I think we could have done with another leisure centre and a brand new assembly hall.

“Other people agree or disagree with the plans, but it ain't going to happen, not for a long time.” [ http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/3663474.Plans_for_Harrow_hit_by_credit_crunch/ ]

Many skaters and BMX riders, past and present, disagree with Cllr Ashton's plans and believe she does not understand what she and the council would be doing if they knocked down one of only two legendary 70's concrete skateparks left in the U.K. to this day.

References

External links

* [http://www.harrowskatepark.co.uk/ Harrow Skate Park - Photos and details]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYLkPnfx4dk&feature=related Youtube - Harrow Skate Park - Documentary on its history]
* [http://www.h-boyz.com H-Boyz website]