Cockermouth Bike & Skate

This simple quote from a Cockermouth young person underpins the groups ambition:

“I just want somewhere I can ride my bike without getting into trouble” 

Such a simple request, young people of Cockermouth deserve a safe space that is free to use and access so they no longer have to improvise in car parks or down main street putting themselves and others at risk.

Over the last 4 years we have registered as a charity and undertaken lots of behind the scenes work to confirm the support for a facility with the community and Cumberland and Cockermouth Town Councils.

We identified potential sites and then assess their technical suitability with support from local contractors and school students and Clark and Kent specialists in design and construction of bike and skate facilities l, including the London Olympics.

We have now identified Bellbrigg Lonning as having the greatest potential based on our technical review. We are going to focus on this location for detailed public engagement to determine if it is a viable and has overall community support. This will include understanding any concerns, whether they can be mitigated, the scale and scope of what might be achieved including opportunities to provide linked benefits to park users and residents. We hope to start our community engagement activities in Autumn.

We understand people wonder why progress is so slow and they don’t see more activity? The honest answer is time!  All four charity trustees have young families, jobs and the usual life commitments and chaos. We fit in as much as we can when we can, but if anyone reading this feels inspired to help and support we would love to hear from you, any skills, time or connections are useful.