Skate park closed in row over 'dangerous' surface

The Concrete Waves skate park at Newquay has been closed by the town council

A skate park has been closed in a row over the safety of its surface.

Newquay Town Council has closed the Concrete Waves skate park in the seaside resort.

It claims there is a "high risk of injury" due to a "sealant substance" which has made the concrete surface "unnecessarily slippery".

A group of skate park users say they applied the sealant to protect the surface from erosion as the park had been "left to fall into disrepair".

In a statement, Newquay Town Council said the application of the sealant on the concrete surface had "made the surfaces unnecessarily slippery for users, especially BMX and small and hard wheeled skateboarders".

The statement said: "It also greatly increases the time it takes for the surfaces to dry, thus making the park susceptible to retaining water and flooding.

"In short, application of this lacquer has meant there is now a significant risk of serious injury to users, including and especially head injury, as well as limiting usage time."

The council said the "sudden alteration to the facility's structure" meant that its insurance had been "invalidated" leading to the closure of the park.

Newquay Town Council said it had reported the matter to the police and officers confirmed they were investigating a case of alleged criminal damage.

The Cornwall Skateparks Council (CSC), made up of people who use the park, say they used the sealant to protect the surface because the council was not carrying out regular maintenance.

The group issued a statement which said: "When requests were made to the council regarding repairs the matters remained unresolved and do so to this day.

"Due to the failure of the council to perform regular checks and a loss of confidence in the council, skate park users had no choice other than to continue repairing elements of the park and protect the surface of the park with an application of skate park concrete sealant in order to prevent the further erosion of the park's smooth surface."

The group said the sealant was used safely in skate parks around the world.

Both the town council and the CSC said they wished to see the skate park reopen as soon as possible.