Flyup, one of the best-known bike parks in the south, will reopen 29th March 2025 after yet another closure due to ongoing roadworks.
Just mere months after reopening, Flyup 417 Bike Park has once again had to close its gates to the public while the National Highways’ A417 project continues. Flyup 417 released a video on Instagram detailing a meeting they had with National Highways, which has resulted in the park being forced to close whilst more work is done on their land. The closure will take place between 4 November 2024 and 29 March 2025.
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Why is Flyup 417 closing again?
The reason is primarily for insurance issues, as the work cannot be continued while there are riders on the land, making use of the trails. But perhaps even more worryingly, is the lack of clarity being provided by National Highways to the Flyup 417 team on how their long-term plans will impact the trails that are already there. We covered the why and what the Missing Link Project is in previous articles, but essentially Highways England has a plan to build a dual-carriageway between the M5 at Brockworth and the M4 at Swindon, to “alleviate congestion.”
Popular with riders of all ages. Although who knows how old this young ripper will be when Flyup opens for good.
The lack of communication and seemingly changing plans without consultation is something that Flyup 417 has appeared to have been subject to since they were made aware of the plans last year. And now, with the park closing again, this time for 4 months, should more questions be asked about the priorities of the project?
If there’s any solace in this, it’s that the Forest of Dean uplift service provided by the team at 417 will now be running 6 days a week. So make sure you give them some love and book onto an uplift day if you’re heading to FOD for a ride.
The 417 bike park compromises beautifully-crafted flowing trails, and a whopping great civil engineering project on its doorstep.
The full statement from Flyup 417 from the park’s Instagram page is below:
“We’re saddened to announce that, following discussions with National Highways, FlyUp 417 Bike Park will be closing from November 4th 2024 to March 29th 2025, due to the ongoing A417 Missing Link project. We’ve been left with no choice as the scheduled construction work will be taking place on operational land.
We know how much this bike park means to many of you, and we’re truly devastated by this news.
We’re still waiting for more clarity regarding the project’s long-term implications, but we believe that a return to the plans approved in the Development Consent Order and Requirement 11 could help to resolve most of these issues.
While the 417 Bike Park is closed, we’ll be running our Forest of Dean uplift service six days a week, and we’ll transfer all bookings made for after November 4th to FOD. The park remains open as usual for the next two weeks and we truly appreciate your continued support during this difficult time. Keep an eye out for announcements about some special events over the next couple of weeks.
If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with Gemma or Dave on-site. Your support and loyalty mean the world to us and we’re committed to getting through this together.
Thank you for standing by us.”