Newquay skate park reopens after safety closure

Karl Neville from Yorkshire travels to Newquay regularly to use the skate park

A popular skate park has reopened after a six-week closure over its safety.

In September, people reportedly travelled hundreds of miles to use Newquay's "world class" Concrete Waves skate park, to find it was shut.

Newquay Town Council said a sealant a group of skate park users had applied to protect the surface from eroding had invalidated insurance.

The skaters said they had used the sealant as the park had been "left to fall into disrepair".

A council spokesperson had said it posed a "high risk of injury" due to the sealant making the surface of the "world class" park "unnecessarily slippery".

The Concrete Waves skate park is free and open to all ages and abilities

Karl Neville, 56, from Yorkshire, who uses the facility regularly, said: "What they should have done is say people skate at their own risk until we get it sorted".

He said he knew people who had travelled from as far as Liverpool and Manchester to use the skate park in September, to discover it was closed.

"It caused a great deal of disappointment," he said.

Mr Neville said he thought the six-week closure was too long, and said eventually skaters ignored it.

"It was busy last week," he said.

"Now it's open when all the kids are back at school and the weather's turned," he added.

Newquay councillor, Andy Hannan, said "we aim to work closely with the local skating community to ensure the facility stays open, safe and in prime working order"

A town council spokesperson said: "The site has been temporarily closed since Friday 17 September due to documented issues with insurance.

"Having resolved these through a detailed process with a new insurer, Newquay Town Council is delighted to be able to open it to the public again."

Newquay councillor, Andy Hannan, said: "We would like to thank those users who have avoided using the facility during this period and going forward, we aim to work closely with the local skating community to ensure the facility stays open, safe and in prime working order for the permanent enjoyment of all."