NOVEMBER 2024 UPDATE
November 14th was The Warehouse's first Community Evening! This event was for people who have volunteered or supervised or in other ways contributed to the running of the park, so it was a great opportunity to celebrate and say thanks to all the people who have helped make it happen.
We did a deep clean of the park, an update on how the first month and a half has gone, and our plans for the next phase.
THE FIRST 45 DAYS OF THE WAREHOUSE
We’ve had almost 800 unique visitors to the park, and on average we get between 15 and 20 skaters when we open! The park is so popular! And people come from all over the country to skate it.
Astonishingly we’ve managed to open >50 separate times in those 45 days, when we account for individual sessions.
Our ability to open this much has massively depended on supervisors volunteering - so thank you everyone who has given their time.
EVENTS
We've hosted lots of events - from the weekly Junior Jam to the Friday night sessions, and they're starting to be managed by the communities they benefit.
Again, massive thanks to everyone who has gotten involved with running these. Communities taking ownership of these regular sessions is exactly what the Warehouse should be about!
NETWORKING
James Moulang and Ted Sonin attended Connect in Bordeaux, a festival of skate urbanism, and talked about the Warehouse with members of Skateboard GB, skateboarding academics, skate shops and brands.
Paul Elbro gave a talk at Networking with Purpose, an event that connects social enterprises like us with businesses that want to do good.
EDUCATION, HALF TERM CAMPS, BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Pete Higginson gave an update on the Warehouse's first Half Term Camp, put on with Ali and Bella - we had 3 days of skating, and fully booked out the camp with short notice! The kids really enjoyed the camp and we're planning on doing more.
Additionally we've put on some birthday parties, and we're planning on starting a weekly after school club.
It's still early days for coaching at the Warehouse but it's clear that the park has a lot of potential for outreach and education and creating the next generation of skaters in Cambridge.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE WAREHOUSE?
We've identified the four main aims for the next phase of The Warehouse:
- More times to skate
- More stuff to skate
- More community involvement
- Making the project more sustainable
MORE TIMES TO SKATE
The park depends on volunteer supervisors to open up, so a big push at the moment is to increase the number of trained people who can be Lead Supervisors. We need people who are:
- First aid trained (Level 3 First Aid at Work)
- Enhanced DBS checked
- Safeguarding trained
- Fire warden trained
We've done a call for supervisors, and we're arranging training now! The aim is to get to a point where we have a large number of supervisors who can share the load. If you're interested in becoming a supervisor, please email hello@cam-skate.co.uk
MORE STUFF TO SKATE
The first phase of construction was an incredible push - from our construction lead Pete and the whole community of volunteers.
From getting the keys to opening a proper skatepark to the public took about two months!
Since opening, we've been adding bit-by-bit to the modular street section - thanks to Will for renovating the ledge donated from Drug Store in Norwich, building three height-adjustable manual pads, and four kickers that go along with them!
Will and Ties have also been working on a slappy curb, which has nearly finished curing, and Zac is working on a small spine feature.
THE EXTENSION
Alongside individual feature additions, we've been working with Trevor Johnson at The Skate Parchitect on a large new feature that will sit next to the driveway in the street section. The aim is to increase the flow of the park and introduce a variety of - especially smaller - features.
At the Community Evening we presented multiple designs at different price points, and got feedback from those in attendance. We revised the design based on this feedback and have settled on this 30cm high platform with a bank that links up to the driveway, with a two-stair with moveable kickers, a Pier 7 style manual pad, and other features.
One big advantage of this extension is that it allows us to remove the fencing on the side of the driveway!
We're aiming to close the park for the last week of November to build this feature - very soon!
CO-DESIGNING A NEW FEATURE
As well as these more top-down approaches of building simple features for the modular section, and working with professionals for a large extension, we're hoping to also have some direct community involvement in the design of the park from the bottom up.
To this end, we're planning on a community co-design process for a new feature for the park! At the Community Evening, Ted presented the goals for the project.
The aim is to get the community to submit designs, to select a handful and have the community vote for their favourite, then work with a professional builder to make it a reality.
SUMMARY
It’s a bit mind boggling that it has only been ~50 days since we opened to the public. 80 days ago, reception was a bare room, and now it's a cozy, welcoming space, lush with plants from Small and Green and beautiful furniture from Loukas Morley.
At this point it kind of feels like The Warehouse has always existed and always will - like it’s just part of Cambridge. But it’s still so new, and it was only created as a result of a huge community effort - and it’s a huge community effort that keeps it open on a regular basis. Thanks so much to everyone who has made this happen!
I'd like to end this update with some of the lovely reviews we've received on Google Maps. If you feel like the park is important to you and you'd like to support, you can leave a review at this link - thank you!
"As someone who has returned to skateboarding in their mid 30's after a long lay-off, I've found the place really welcoming with its inclusive community. The ethos is a credit to Cambridge and a great place for younger skaters who need somewhere safe to train. I understand this is a community project and really hope to see it flourish in a city that should be widely known for its contribution to culture."
"Clean, safe and cute indoor skatepark. Saturday morning under 10s session is a nice treat for the younger ones, would recommend."
"Love this place, a real community vibe where everyone is welcome :-)"
"As a first time skater I have found the Wearhouse the perfect place for beginners. super friendly staff, great facility's and its only getting better."
Three main points come across in the majority of reviews - people feel like the Warehouse is a welcoming, inclusive place that is getting people into skateboarding, the ramps are built to a really high quality, and it's affordable and accessible to a wide range of people. Let's keep this going!
- James, Joe and Paul
© SKATEBOARD CAMBRIDGE CIC 2022