In recent years, skateboarding in Nottingham has experienced a resurgence and is now stronger than it has been than at any time in the past. A bye-law, introduced in 2000, prohibited skateboarding in areas across the city centre. This was lampooned as “quirky” and “out-of-date” by the Nottingham Post in a 2008 article. Close to Nottingham’s city centre and Creative Quarter, the new facility is intended to build on the wider creative and cultural aspects of skateboarding, including photography, film, digital media, art and design, as well as encouraging healthy and active lifestyles. Of the skateboarders in Nottingham and the East Midlands who responded to Skate Nottingham’s user survey 53% skated between 2 and 3 times every week and 36% skated more than 4 times a week. It is also something that people engage with throughout their active lives: 38% of survey respondents had skated for between 6 and 10 years, 18% between 11 and 15 years, 9% between 16 and 20 and 7% more than 20 years. It was clear from the research that the development would provide value to a wide demographic of people and get people active.
