13 years ago, in February 2010 a campaign to create a skatepark in Falmouth that would rival the best in the country started to come together, a 13 yr old boy named Mikey had 2,000 skateboard fans sign up through a Facebook page and then took his campaign to Falmouth council to begin negotiations.  

Mikey's campaign got the attention of adult skateboarders who came on board to support the idea. A committee was soon formed, Chaired by Alex Brinnen and supported by Falmouth Town Council. 

The plans have now been worked on and discussed for over a decade but in the last month, it was announced in the media after a council meeting that the size of the skatepark could be reduced to help keep within the budget.  

I got in touch with the chair of the committee Alex Brinnen to discuss the journey so far, the challenges they still face to finally get the skatepark built, and how people in the community can help increase their funding. 

Alex told me that the previous skatepark was on an area the size of a swimming pool, it was originally built to be used for the next 10 years but ended up running as it was for around 18 years. Repairs and maintenance were needed but a sewage pipe burst which gave the idea for a new skate park some real emphasis.  

I asked Alex if there had been any resistance to the idea that might have led to it taking so long, but Alex said that Falmouth Town Council has been helpful but as the current plot was so small it would only be worth going through with the plans if they could increase the size. 

However, increasing the size creates its own problems as Cornwall Council then had to devolve the whole of Dracena Park to Falmouth Town Council. 

The increase in size also meant that the area around the skatepark would need to be taken into account, such as a new road, a bigger car park, benches, and drainage.  

Proposed lay out of the skatepark

All of these things have contributed to the ongoing challenge with the budget, it was recently claimed that they wanted to reduce the cost of the skatepark from £1m to £500,000 however Alex said the skatepark has always been budgeted at around £500,000 it was the factors around that plans that would add the additional cost almost doubling the price. 

The plans have now been taken back to designers Maverick Skateparks to try and make a few cost-cutting changes to try and bring the total budget down so they can finally start the first phase of groundwork including the drainage. 

Another look at the proposed plans of the skatepark

Although the council, designers, and committee are all working hard to work around the budget there is a way for people in the community to help, each week you can vote in the Asda Foundation Green Token Giving campaign that the skatepark is a part of. 

Alex explained that not only does the funding build up over time but the more people who vote will show organisations like the national lottery that the project has a real interest from its community which could lead to more funding. 

You can vote for the skatepark here: Green Tokens - Vote | Asda

Finally, I asked Alex what kind of difference a proper skatepark could make to Falmouth, he said: "I think it will have a huge impact, when you grow up in Falmouth and start to get a bit older there isn't really anything to do but this will give people a place to go. 

"It's not just about skating either, it teaches you about diversity and friendship. You meet different types of people you may not normally speak to and as skating has such a wide age range the area can policy itself with a mix of kids, adults, and families. 

"We have even spoken about getting youth councillors working there that could help with the Dracaena Centre and support young people in the community." 

You can follow the project here: Falmouth Skatepark.

You can also find a youtube video about the project here (released in 2021): Dracaena Skatepark.