BMX/SKATEBOARDING
Boyley Park users seek facility upgrade
The newly renovated track and skate park at Sidley recreation ground which we reported on back in June (New Bexhill centre for BMX racers in HIP 203) has been attracting the custom of skaters and BMX riders from across the county. It has also provoked envious glances from those in Hastings who once regarded the Boyley Forever skatepark above White Rock Gardens as a state-of-the-art facility.
The Boyley is famous for its annual Jam event – there was a 20th anniversary celebration this August – and it’s still available on a daily basis for those who don’t have the time or resources to make it across to Sidley and can’t afford the session fees to use the indoor Source Park on Hastings seafront. As a base for developing and practising freestyle skills it has an honourable history. But the limited extent of Boyley’s existing facility means that it can get overcrowded and frankly dangerous, particularly for younger and less experienced users. There are complaints that it attracts too many drinkers and smokers. “It does not give off a welcoming vibe”, says one junior BMX rider who prefers the Source Park for its well-appointed spectator area as well as its all-weather availability.
A BMX rider on the Sidley track
CREDIT: Veronique Leplat
Now Xtrax, a charity working with young people in Hastings aged 16-24, is seeking the help of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) to expand and revitalise what’s on offer at Boyley. A couple of months ago they released a video made by local users which explained the need for wider development of the available space. And last week the mayor of Hastings, Cllr James Bacon, accompanied by lead HBC councillor for Culture and Health, Andy Batsford, met with young skaters and riders there with the stated aim of seeing “how the council could assist with the challenge of modelling and building the second phase of the skate park”.
Cllrs Bacon and Batsford at Boyley Park
CREDIT: Hastings Borough Council
Cllr Batsford paid tribute to the Boyley Trust, “who have worked hard for more than 20 years to ensure this park has become a space that can be enjoyed by lots of the town’s residents”; and he also praised their “future vision”, although admitting that funding is still needed.
He said: “This feels like the right time to move things forward, working with Xtrax, the users of the skate park, HBC officers, commercial companies, councillors and young people who can share their ideas to help make this happen, and produce a skate park that is designed and developed by the young people who use and know the sport and site.”
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