Swansea to Get New Skate Parks and Pump Tracks, Council Commits £2.7M

PEOPLE in Swansea will be able to get to new skate parks or pump tracks within two miles of where they live, a senior councillor said.
Addressing a cabinet meeting Cllr Robert Francis-Davies said consultants commissioned by the council have indicated that a network of new schemes would cost around £2.7 million.
The proposed locations of the new facilities haven’t been disclosed, although Cllr Cyril Anderson said during the meeting he was “really excited” about the new skate park coming to his Townhill ward.
The council had already set aside £1 million for new skate parks and pump tracks – looping circuits for cyclists with jumps and banked turns – before cabinet authorised a further £1 million at the meeting.
Cllr Francis-Davies, cabinet member for investment, regeneration, events and tourism, said he would probably seek further funding in due course given the £2.7 million estimate.
“We can make sure then that every child, or every adult as well, will be able to get access to a pump track or skateboarding within a two-mile radius of wherever you live in Swansea,” he said. “My ambition is to make Swansea the skateboarding, small-wheeled capital of Wales.”
There are some outdoor and indoor skate facilities in the county, including one developed by Mumbles Community Council by the promenade at West Cross.
Last month skateboarder, endurance athlete and vegan chef Mathew Pritchard cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just six days to help raise funds for Exist Skatepark, Mount Pleasant.
Cabinet papers indicated that £509,000 would be spent on new skate parks and pumps tracks this financial year, with a further £875,000 and £616,000 spent in the following two years.
The cabinet meeting heard that the council has spent £7.1 million renovating around 50 children’s play areas in recent years following a previous period, according to Cllr Francis-Davies, of no investment and the removal of equipment. “Children as far as I’m concerned have a right to play,” he said. Swansea was leading the way in Wales if not Britain, he said, with this investment.
During the meeting cabinet also agreed to allocate £1 million for use by councillors for capital projects in their ward. This doubles an existing £1 million that councillors can, between them, spend locally during the current election term.
The funding for the skate parks and community budgets is coming from a £12.4 million budget surplus from 2023-24. A big chunk of this £12.4 million – £6 million – will cover overspending in the council’s social services department, something all councils are grappling with.
Cabinet also agreed additional expenditure of £1.2 million on road resurfacing, new drop kerbs and upgrades to park paths. Cllr Andrew Stevens, whose cabinet brief includes transport, said this took highways investment to in excess of £8.1 million.
Council leader Rob Stewart said the authority needed significantly more funding than it received to upgrade roads to the “standard we would like”.
Cllr Francis-Davies added: “It’s so easy to knock local government about potholes. Give us the money and we can deliver.” He also praised highways staff for their clear-up work after torrential rain on Friday, September 6, submerged Mumbles Road at Blackpill and sent “manhole covers popping” in Sandfields. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​