History   Skatepark Design

The ESP was formed in December of 2001 with the intention of lobbying the council to look at the provision of an outdoor concrete skatepark for the capital. Initial meetings enjoyed huge support from the skateboarding, bmxing and roller blading community and the council quickly pledged their support to the scheme. The promise of a significant cash investment from the Millennium fund looked like meeting the larger part of the cost and with this in place campaigning started with the view to building the skatepark in the Meadows.

This proposal however did not come to fruition with a bylaw preventing further building on the Meadows. It was suggested that this bylaw could be overcome through the parliament however it was felt that in the interests of time a second site needed to be identified.
Inverleith park was chosen due to its central location, large size and existing sports usage however after a long campaign and mixed local feeling the planning application was narrowly defeated at the planning hearing by one vote at the end of 2005.

Throughout this time the ESP members had attended local meetings and worked closely with the council to offer advice and guidance when required and keep the project on track to deliver a skatepark to fit the needs of the user group. Despite this disappointing decision the ESP enjoyed the support of the council and set about finding a new suitable site for the skatepark by visiting over 20 locations in Edinburgh.

Saughton Park was finally chosen as the ideal location for the skatepark due to the excellent transport links, existing sports usage of the park and refreshingly positive attitudes of the majority of the local residents and community groups. To this end the planning application was submitted and finally granted in December 2008 and financial support followed from both Sport Scotland and WREN. The next 6 months saw the ESP fine tuning the design and working with the council and architects to ensure that the Saughton skatepark is one of the best in Europe.

Enjoy the park!...s


The Skatepark Layout:

The final layout for the Saughton Park site was developed by the skaters and riders in the ESP group in conjunction with architects Urban Design Futures and Dave Sowerby acting to produce the layout plans. The skatepark layout covers approximately 2100 square meters and features a mix of bowl and street features to cater for all skill levels.

View the skatepark design >