Partner Article

Locate East Sussex helps with new skate park

An ambitious project to transform a derelict underground swimming pool into a world-class BMX and skateboard park is nearing completion.

In January 2016, Hastings company Source BMX will be opening the doors of a giant indoor skate park and shop at the former White Rock Baths on the Hastings seafront.

Business support service Locate East Sussex helped secure funding of £320,000 for the scheme from the Regional Growth Fund, administered locally by East Sussex County Council, as well as a loan of £28,000 to Source BMX. Thirty new jobs are being created as a result.

Philip Johnson, Director of Locate East Sussex, said: “We are delighted to help Source BMX progress with this exciting move and the subsequent new jobs are fantastic news for the wider county’s economy.

“The new skatepark will be a great addition to the town which is becoming known as one of the most exciting destinations and dynamic business locations on the South coast.”

The funding application was a joint submission between the Foreshore Trust, which owns the building and is completing the renovation works, and Source BMX. A lease is being granted to Source BMX which will be fitting out the skatepark and shop.

Source BMX was launched in 2003 as small bedroom-sized shop and has grown into a huge online and retail business operation, currently based in an old church in Braybrooke Terrace, Hastings.

By 2013 brothers and BMX enthusiasts, Marc and Richard Moore, decided they had outgrown the church and developed plans to renovate the dilapidated White Rock Baths in 2013.

Hayden Jones from Saville Jones Architects, who became involved in the project in 2014 said: ’’Bringing White Rock Baths back into community use is a great challenge and a great example of sustainability and a tremendous asset to the town attractions.“

“Our architectural approach has been to let the existing structure and distressed nature of the baths form the backdrop to the theatre and drama of BMX and skateboarding. The minimal intervention, we feel, will resonate with the visitors and allow The Source to develop the facility in the future.’’

‘Source Park,’ as they call it, will include a giant underground retail store, viewing platforms, a café, outdoor ramps and a skate park for beginners, which will provide tuition for both BMX and skateboarding alike.

Richard Moore’s enthusiasm for the project is evident. He said: “We are so excited to open the skate park to the public. It is really coming together.

“The support from Locate East Sussex has been invaluable and allowed us to push ahead with our plans.

“Being located in East Sussex means we are close to our customers and our suppliers. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Cllr Dawn Poole, lead member for regeneration at Hastings Borough Council said: “We have been working for a considerable time to find a productive and appropriate use for the White Rock Baths, so this development by Source BMX is very exciting indeed.

“The Charity Committee approved the proposal including an investment by the Foreshore Trust, which owns the baths and, the council also approved the development and funding with additional funding being obtained from East Sussex County Council.

“The building has been let on a 10-year lease to Source BMX, who will establish the South Coast’s first major indoor BMX and skateboard leisure centre. We are very pleased to see that the transformation of the dilapidated baths is now well on its way to completion and look forward to the facility opening very soon.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Angela Gallen .