In response to an online petition started in 2017 by a local campaigner, Your Back Yard decided to take on the challenge of helping local residents in Stanningley to build a new skatepark in Stanningley Park.
The local campaigners need Your Back Yard to provide an evidence-base so that potential funders will consider the project, as Councillor Ritchie made t clear that similar requests for skateparks had been made in the past, but had failed to gain momentum due to this lack of evidence.
We discovered that 86.9% of the 96 respondent that responded to our questionnaire supported the motion of building a skatepark in the Bramley/Stanningley area. We also discovered that although there was a lack of interest shown by the respondents who replied to the questionnaire in being part of the project in the future, the school-aged teenagers we consulted about the project showed a lot more interest in helping to design the skatepark.
The young people at the Leeds West Academy also came up with some fundraising ideas, such as a sponsored fun run and a non-uniform day, as well as some design ideas, such as making sure to include flowers around the skatepark to improve its appearance, and ensuring that there are appropriate seating areas around the skatepark.
We are holding a public consultation meeting on the 11th December at Stanningley Primary School at 6pm which anyone with an interest in the project is welcome to come to.
June 2019 Update
This research we conducted, and feedback from the consultation, has been passed over to Leeds City Council, who are working with another organisation to complete the project. We hope to hear an update from them soon with their progress.