Portsmouth's undercover skate park opens on Saturday

The park is in the former Sainsbury's north of the city centre. This Saturday will see the Clarence Street doors to Pitt Street Skatepark open offering people of all ages a chance to come and try out some new skills.

Portsmouth City Council bought the former Sainsbury’s building on Commercial Road as part of regeneration plans. In the meantime, the council has let the building to the Pitt Street Skatepark to support this exciting community project.

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Long-term skateboarder and founder of Pitt Street Skatepark Jacob Skinner said: ‘As a child, skateboarding was my outlet and I want to give others the opportunity to use it in a positive way. We are really passionate about changing the view of skateboarding in the community, it's also so important to remember that you are never too old to skate. We want to bring the community together through this venue and encourage people of all ages to get involved.’

Councillor Steve Pitt, cabinet member for culture, leisure, and economic development at Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘It's fantastic to see this empty building transformed for the community. Pitt Street Skatepark gives a real opportunity for people to come together and explore a new passion. Congratulations to the team behind it, it’s a big achievement. We know this area has huge potential to help transform the city centre and using empty spaces like this is a great way to start to unlock new community facilities and business opportunities while we develop long-term regeneration plans.’

The park includes ramps, rails and ledges and enough variations to hold competitions alongside day-to-day use. The venue is welcoming BMX riders, roller bladers, scooter riders, skaters with quad boots, and will offer sessions for 'silver surfers' and 'teeny boppers'.

The multi rink hosted the We Creates market during the We Shine lights festival.

An outline planning application for city centre north regeneration sets out long-term proposals for the area between Hope Street to the north, Charlotte Street to the south, and Commercial Road to the east.

The full outline planning application can be viewed at Portsmouth.gov.uk/planning by searching for reference number 22/01243/CS3. For more information see portsmouthcitycentre.co.uk or email [email protected]