Harrow Skate Park or Harrow Solid Surf is one of only two remaining 1970's
shotcrete
Shotcrete, gunite (), or sprayed concrete is concrete or mortar conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a construction technique, first used in 1907 invented by Carl Akeley. It is typically ...
skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...
s still operating in the United Kingdom. It is located next to Byron Park and Harrow Leisure Centre in
Wealdstone
Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone.
The area accommodates ...
in the
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...
, England.
Primarily because of its age and design, it is one of the most noted skateparks in the UK and is favourably compared to other classic seventies skatepark designs such as Marina del Rey (Los Angeles) and "Pipeline" (
Upland, California
Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States on the border with neighboring Los Angeles County. The municipality is located at an elevation of 1,242 feet (379 m). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 79,040 ...
) in the US.
History
The skatepark's planning began in 1976 and it was completed and opened to the public on 15 July 1978. It was designed by G-Force designer Adrian Rolt and was built by Skate Park Construction, assisted by Jim Rennie and Rodga Harvey as design consultants, 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.
Features
Current features include a concrete
half-pipe, The Pool, a street section with a concrete bank and a wooden quarter pipe (this section previously included a metal box and metal quarter pipe that had to be removed for safety reasons), the snakerun, and four moguls. The performance bowl was filled in a number of years ago by the council and remains out of action despite attempts to dig it out. The park did have other recent additions such as a
mini ramp
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ra ...
, but that was destroyed by local vandals. The park operates free of charge and is open from 9:00 am till dusk.
Due to the site's uniqueness, the UK
skateboarding,
Roller skating
Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...
and
BMX scene use the park as a place to hang out and socialise as well as to ride the
ramp
An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...
s. 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
Iain Borden (born in Oxford in 1962) is an English architectural historian and urban commentator.
Career
Educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford (MCS), Iain Borden graduated from University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1985, and went on to comp ...
who said it was used in the eighties by "the best-known London skaters and 'H-Boyz' (Harrow regulars)". 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
Jonathan Toby Harris, Baron Harris of Haringey (born 11 October 1953) is a Labour Party politician in the House of Lords.
Family and education
Harris was born in North London, the son of geneticist Professor Harry Harris and Muriel Harris (n ...
and Harrow East MP and Minister for London
Tony McNulty
Anthony James "Tony" McNulty (born 3 November 1958) is a British politician who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010. During his ministerial career, which began in 2003, he was Minister for London and la ...
.
2007-2008 threat of closure
In the year 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'. 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.
The world-famous skater
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...
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." On 6 February 2008
Sport England
Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...
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.
In October 2008 it was revealed that Harrow Council's plans to demolish the park and build a new leisure centre had been abandoned. The plan was to sell land in and around the site of Harrow Leisure Centre, where the skatepark is based, to fund a new building and skatepark. However, with house prices dropping the council was unable to generate the money it needed to fund the project. A BMX rider at Harrow Skatepark, 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 Councillor Marilyn Ashton has blamed the cancel of regeneration of the leisure centre 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."
Rio Joseph, Youth development officer of Harrow Skate Park, led the war against the new leisure centre: "Other people agree or disagree with the plans, but it ain't going to happen, not for a long time."
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 '70s concrete skateparks left in the UK to this day.
On 31 October 2008, there was a "Harroween" skate jam to celebrate Harrow Skate Park not being demolished. From the ''Harrow Times'', 31 October 2008:
Access
The Skate Park is next to Harrow Leisure Centre and Byron recreation ground, and is walking distance from
Harrow & Wealdstone station
Harrow & Wealdstone is a London Underground and railway station on the Watford DC line and West Coast Main Line in Harrow and Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow. It is on the line from London Euston station. It is also the northern te ...
.
In popular culture
Singer-songwriter
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress.
Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...
, a Harrow native, recorded parts of her music video for ''I Hate You This Christmas'' at the park.
See also
*
The Rom
The Rom is a Grade II listed skatepark in Hornchurch, East London, England. Built in 1978, and designed by Adrian Rolt of G-Force, it is the most completely preserved purpose-built skatepark in England. It is the first skatepark in Europe to ac ...
References
External links
Guide to Harrow SkateparkYoutube – Harrow Skate Park – Documentary on its historyH-Boyz website
{{coord, 51.593, -0.3255, region:GB, display=title
Skateparks in the United Kingdom
Sport in the London Borough of Harrow
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Harrow
History of the London Borough of Harrow
1978 establishments in England
Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Harrow
Skateboarding spots