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'Our hard work was knocked down for office block'

Michael Gaughan
BBC News, Manchester
BBC A young man wearing a black t-shirt and cap stands with his arms behind his back. He's standing in front of the demolished skatepark, which is cordoned off by a fence. The park is strewn with rubble and litter.BBC
Skateboarder Jamie Reed says it was difficult to watch the park being demolished

Skateboarders are "heartbroken" after their local skatepark was demolished to make way for an office complex.

Community-built skatepark 'Gooseside DIY' was based on the former Central Retail Park in north Manchester and skaters say it took them three years to build.

Jamie Reed, 27, helped build the space and said "there's a lot of sadness in the air" following the demolition.

Manchester City Council said over £580,000 has been secured to build all wheel pump tracks at Delamere Park and Harpurhey park and a further £50k has been agreed to date to develop new skate park proposals for Chorlton Park.

A boy skates on a graffiti-covered green mini-ramp in a skatepark, set against a blue sky.
The skatepark was built on the derelict former Ancoats Central Retail Park

Jamie added: "I think we all knew that the demolition day was coming, but you can never really fully emotionally prepare yourself for watching three and a half years of hard work get demolished almost instantly.

"It was pretty heartbreaking."

Volunteers used rubble, reclaimed materials, litter and hand-mixed concrete to build the make shift park and say it was the only free-to-use facility in Manchester city centre.

Jamie believes without spaces like Gooseside DIY, Manchester's skate scene will suffer.

"There's a big demand for skate space in the city."

"A big part of the project was taking responsibility and instead of waiting for something to be built, we came together and did it ourselves".

A further two sites in Platt Fields and Hulme Park have already been identified as key sites for the next stage of investment, a council spokesperson added.

Skateboarders stand at the edges of the skatepark, watching others skate the various ramps, curbs and ledges.
The skatepark was a popular spot for skaters across the city

Sammy, a skateboarder who also helped build Gooseside DIY, says the park was essential for the city's skate scene.

He added on any given summer's night or dry evening, you'd find 50 or 60 people down here whereas on a weekend, there could be 200 people.

"Gooseside quite quickly became integral to Manchester's skate scene.

"It felt like we had no other option than to build our own place. So that's what we did."

A man in a grey hoodie with his right arm outstretched stands in front of the demolished skatepark, which is fenced off.
Skateboarder Sammy wants to see more investment in a city-wide network of parks

In February, planning permission was granted at the Ancoats site for a government office complex which promises to bring 7,000 civil service jobs to Manchester alongside a new urban park.

It will bring together a range Civil Service departments with a focus on technology.

Councillor John Hacking, executive member for employment, skills and leisure, said:

"We have invested in safe and secure skate parks in many of the city's parks in recent years, creating a circuit across the city that complement each other, which means people can get a different experience at each.

"But we want to continue this, and Platt Fields and Hulme Park are the next in line for key investment."

He urged people to let the council know what they think about the plans and to attend any of the in person events being organised.