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Portsmouth MP praises ‘fantastic creativity’ of new indoor skatepark to be converted from disused supermarket

By 13 August 2021August 16th, 2021No Comments

Stephen Morgan MP has praised the ‘fantastic creativity’ of a new project that will see the old Sainsbury’s supermarket on Commercial Road converted into an indoor skatepark.

The long-term future of the Undercover Skatepark Project will be decided by Portsmouth City Council, which in the meantime has granted the project a temporary licence to use the site.

Plans include an indoor half pipe, as well as facilities for community arts and other wheeled sports.

Visiting the site, Portsmouth South MP, Stephen Morgan, said,

“It’s fantastic to see the creativity used here to breathe fresh life back into a large space which would have otherwise gone unused for some time.

“This will be a brilliant facility for our city which will help to support our local economic recovery from this crisis, by driving more people back to the high-street, whilst also tackling anti-social behaviour by providing a new safe haven for younger people.

“I want to see more local projects like this supported if we are to deliver Portsmouth’s cultural and economic recovery.”

Jacob Skinner, one of the organisers behind the project, added,

“It was great to have Stephen come visit our site.  Having the backing of our local MP is important to the project, it also reaffirms the importance of what we are doing. 

“We are building a wheeled sports, leisure and creative facility for the city so it’s nice to know we have it’s support.  I look forward to seeing him have a roll around when we open!”

Undercover Skatepark’s team of about 20 volunteers hope to have the indoor park operational by the end of the year.

You can donate to the project via its fundraising page here: https://uk.gofundme.com/f/undercover-skatepark-project