The activity park project was featured in an article in The National about community-led skatepark projects in North Berwick and Leith.🛹
Here’s the Leith bit:
“Projects such as the proposal for an entirely new outdoor skate facility in Leith show that the hunger for more facilities extends beyond North Berwick.
Gordon Carmichael is a designer by trade and posted some mock-ups on social media of what a skatepark would look like on Leith Links during the pandemic.
He said: “It was really just a provocation but it ended up getting a lot of attention”.
After seeing the initial plans a few other members approached Carmichael to see whether they could progress the plans together, with the a neglected bowling green in mind as the perfect site for a prospective park.
“I think it’s an idea that’s been in peoples heads for a long time, we were just the first ones to put pen to paper.
“There are skateparks in loads of small towns across Scotland and numerous in Edinburgh.
“But in Leith you’ve got this large community with its own distinct identity yet there isn’t a free, outdoor facility within about 40 minutes on the bus.”
The plan, now known as the Leith Links Activity Park, was included in the council’s ten year masterplan proposal for Leith Links, with the skatepark receiving an overwhelmingly positive response.
If approved by Edinburgh City Council’s culture and communities committee later this year, it will officially be part of the plan to improve the park over the decade.
“What I’ve realised is that sometimes popular ideas just need somebody to run with them,” said Carmichael. “You’ve just got to keep pushing forward.”
Image c/o Lewis Houghton
Leith Links Activity Park 