1,000 signatures are needed by February 2025 to get Shropshire council to consider the plans to build a pump track in the town.
A petition for a ‘skateboard facility and pump track’ in Oswestry, Shropshire, has been launched, with 1,000 signatures needed in order for the plans to be considered by the council. The petition, started by local rider and bike mechanic Theo Merchant and councillor Olly Rose, asks Shropshire Council to donate unused land to Oswestry Town Council to be used as a skate park and pump track.
“Oswestry has a thriving riding scene with loads of keen young riders, so a pump track would be a great addition to the town,” Merchant commented. “A track has been talked about for over a decade, so now is the time to get one built and create a great riding location for locals as well as riders from afar!”
Theo Merchant (left) and councillor Olly Rose (right) are campaigning for a new pump track in Oswestry.
What are the Oswestry pump track plans?
The petition is asking Shropshire council to donate unused land “to the north of Oswestry Leisure Centre” to Oswestry Town Council so that it can be developed into a skate park and pump track. Given its proximity to the local leisure centre and an urban extension area, the petition argues that it’s “ideally located.”
Interestingly, planning permission was granted in 2008 for this usage, but a lack of funds from Shropshire council has seen the project drop down the list of priorities. Local riders argue that young people (and us oldies who like to play on BMX bikes and pretend we’re still 15) “deserve” to enjoy “proper exercise facilities”, and that the lack of current options for youngsters “increases the risks to them and other residents from anti-social riding.”
Furthermore, the petition suggests that Oswestry Town Council has the means to build a pump track, if the land was given to the council.
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How can you get involved?
The online petition runs from 3 November to 7 February 2025, and needs 1,000 signatures to be considered by Shropshire council. If you live, work or study within Shropshire council borders, then you are eligible to sign the petition, and hopefully get the council on board to build some much-needed riding infrastructure.
If, however, you don’t live in Shropshire, then there’s no harm in sharing the petition far and wide in the hope that someone who does live there will see it, and say, “What a great idea, I think I’ll sign that.”