Barnstaples Gravity Park

Nearly Finished...................

2009-04-13T08:24:00.001-07:00

With all the concrete completed, the park is now guarded by security to stop any little tikes causing any damage before the opening. The contractors have a few little jobs to complete before the final inspection by Gravity leading up to the parks hand over next week.

Bank Holiday Monday....South Molton

2009-04-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

You have to be up early to catch an image like this. Check out South Molton's Skate park at 7am on a Bank Holiday Monday.

2009-04-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

Its all looking good as the bowl is finished leaving a massive 8FT drop in on the far side. Sorry for the poor image quality, I was having a Blondie moment on the settings..Will get some decent images tomorrow though.

Thursday 2nd Apr......Overall progress

2009-04-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Click on this image to see the progress of the park generally, as you can see, its all coming together nicely.

STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS OPEN

Thursday 2nd Apr.......Concrete Progress

2009-04-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

This image gives a good view of how the concrete is applied and as you can see, its blown on using a gun run by a pump. The excess is then removed by scraping it and then it finished by hand.

Wednesday 1st Apr....Bowl moves on

2009-04-01T12:46:00.001-07:00

The bowl continues to be prepared for spraying and this will probably be the final area to be finished in the park. As of yet, there is no sign of the long awaited hydrant which is due for delivery this week.
STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS FINISHED!

Wednesday 1st Apr.....Brickwork added

2009-04-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

As work continued on the curves a bricky arrived to add the brick sections of the skate park. As you can see in the image, they are not actually bricks but more like tiles and questions are raised about the worthiness of these tiles due to cracking.
With suitability theories aside, it certainly looks good and will break up the boring grey of the concrete.

Wednesday 1st Apr....Check out the curves

2009-04-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today saw the arrival of the contractors in charge of spraying the curves into the skate park. Its a relatively straight forward process that involves concrete sprayed on to the foundation work and then finished by hand as you can see in the image.
The main worry now is trespassing as if the concrete is ridden on before it goes off, it will end up damaged and will need to be repaired. This could potentially put back the opening date of the park.
STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS FINISHED!

2009-03-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

To all those selfish youths that have attempted to use the park so far....If you do this, you could risk both yourselves and delaying the opening for the rest of us. We have waited more than 4 years for this park...surely the you can wait a few more weeks? Gravity ask that you stay off the park until it's completed.

Wednesday 25th Mar.....Site Meeting Update

2009-03-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

Monday saw the site meeting that brought everyone together to see the progress of the park. It was announced the park is to be delayed by a few weeks due to material problems. The date is to be confirmed, but is expected to be mid April.
There are a few other surprises too...The VANS team will be making an appearance in April and Devon Youth Games will be holding a Skate Competition on the 5th July...Watch this space...
Finally, many thanks to Stu G for keeping me in the loop whilst the hospital repaired my cracked head.

Saturday 21st Mar.....Approaching final bend

2009-03-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sun shines down on the project as construction continues on the park. Work is being done on the stepped area towards the top of the park and more blocked area's are being shuttered ready for the next concrete delivery.
The park is nearing completion and the next scheduled meeting is on Monday 23rd where planners and councillors will assess the progress of the project. Work is also being planned for the Ilfracombe project by Gravity but sadly the crew that has hand crafted Barnstaples park will not be moving on to Ilfracombe.
STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS OPENED!!!

Wednesday 18th Mar......Great bowls of fire

2009-03-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

In this image you can see the double bowl ready for it final coat of concrete. The remainder of the coping was added in the bottom left of the image after a ramp was made to get the digger in and out of the bowls to remove some of the foundation material.

Friday 13th Mar.......Home for Weekend

2009-03-13T09:46:00.001-07:00

After making it through the morning of Friday the 13th, the contractors have headed home for a long weekend. Work still continues on preparing the slopes for their final coat of concrete. This will hopefully put the park in good stead for the inspection by counsellors and project leaders on the 23rd March. Meanwhile,behind the scenes, a rushed council order will hopefully allow the Devon Youth Association to take over the lease for the park before the summer holidays.

Wednesday 11th Mar.........Ramps take shape

2009-03-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

In this image you can see the process of preparing the ramps for their final coat of concrete. The foundation banks are cut back and shaped with a stencil and then a layer of sand is added to smooth everything out. Finally there is a small layer of concrete added to ensure everything stays where it should until the next contractor arrives in a week to spray the final coat. This means the project is only weeks away from completion but remember ...............STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS OPENED!!!!

Getting you onto the park...Beats Workin

2009-03-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

'Beats workin' is not only your local independent skate shop but is also your link to the skate community. If you are new to the game or a seasoned pro, the friendly team will help you get the best for your cash. Beats workin stocks or can order anything you need and will supply some seriously sweet beats while you wait. Pop in and equip yourself with some serious man fashion or visit the online shop at the link below and show some support to your local independent business.

Monday 9th Mar.....Sun Shines on progress

2009-03-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

The banks continue to be cut back and this image shows the amount of Progress that has been made by Wold Construction on Gravity's newest park.

Sunday 8th Mar.......Check out the curves

2009-03-09T05:18:00.000-07:00

Wold are spending most of the coming week preparing for the next stage of the project. The Foundation banks are cut back using a very complicated bit of plywood template in preparation for the spraying of the concrete which will join the top sections to the bottom sections. This will render the park nearly complete but Gravity do stress....STAY OFF THE PARK UNTIL ITS OPEN!

Thurday 5th Mar.......More sections added

2009-03-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

With work on the rails all but complete the team concentrate on adding some more of the parks features. As you can see buy the image, the park is coming along nicely and will hopefully be finished by Easter.

Friday 27th Feb.........Rails nearly finished

2009-03-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Work still continues on the rails which are nearly finished. Its a very precise operation that requires a great deal of time and patient.

Wednesday 25th Feb......More rails

2009-03-05T07:59:00.001-08:00

Work carries on with marking out for the grind rails. Once all this is completed the team will start laying the metal inserts before shuttering, which will make it ready for the concrete to be added.

Monday 23rd Feb......A request from Project Managers

2009-02-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

As two Wold construction specialists prepare for the next delivery of concrete, Wold project managers ask that you stay off the park until its opened. On previous projects, the opening had to be delayed due to people using the park and causing damage to area's that were not hardened properly. This could of been avoided and therefore Wold Construction appeal for patient.

Monday 23rd Feb.......Grind rails

2009-02-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Two construction specialists from Wold Construction insert stakes as work continues on the top sections. Wold are the sub contractors responsible for most of the construction and come from the north east. Despite being away from home for two weeks at a time, the Wold team are a friendly group and have no complaints with the area.

Sunday 22nd Feb.....It takes shape

2009-02-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

Work along the top sections continues but this is a slow process which requires precise measuring. Once the area for the top section is measured, it has to be marked and staked. Rails are inserted into the shuttering which make the rounded edges of the coping, allowing a smooth drop in.

Friday 20th Feb.....Birds eye view

2009-02-20T09:29:00.001-08:00

This image gives a rough look of the size of the park, with one of the contractors in the top half giving it a rough scale. There is roughly six weeks left of the project, which is running to schedule.

Wednesday 18th Feb.....Work continues

2009-02-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

Now that most of the foundation work is completed, the project is ready for more concrete. The top sections will have the concrete applied and this will continue throughout the next few weeks.

Friday 13th Feb.....More Foundation work

2009-02-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

Work continues on the foundations before more concrete is delivered to the project towards the end of next week.

Monday 09 Feb......First the snow, now the rain.

2009-02-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Work is slowed again as severe weather graces the project with heavy rain. This has affected the pouring of the concrete but in the meantime work is carrying on with foundations of the raised quarter pipe sections, as seen in top half of images.

3D Plan of Banstaples Gravity Park

2009-02-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

Friday 06 Feb....Project takes shape

2009-02-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

The site is starting to take shape now with the full sized hydrant revealing its foundations in the bottom right of the image. Raised quarter pipe foundations are also taking shape in the bottom area where the park will have a mixture of both concrete and brick sections.

Wednesday 04 Feb......Snow Makes Northern Contractors welcome

2009-02-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Construction halts for a short time as snow makes an appearance to make the Northern Sub-contractors feel more at home. This had no effect to the schedule of the project and as soon as most of the snow had melted, work re-commenced.

Monday 2nd Feb....Will Snow halt play?

2009-02-02T06:08:00.001-08:00

As the snow draws in, work continues on the park which is due to be ready in Easter. Contractors are still busy preparing for tomorrow's first concrete delivery which could be threatened by the adverse conditions which has the country in turmoil.

Friday 30th Jan....Contractors head home for weekend

2009-02-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Friday tea time and contractors have headed home for the week-end, leaving the site secure. This week has seen alot of different aspects of foundation work going ahead to make ready for the concrete which is due next week. The Sub contractors are committed to minimising the enviromental effects and have even kept some of the original bushes which will be re-planted towards the end of the project.

Saturday 24th Jan....Cutting the Grass, thing of the past!

2009-02-02T05:46:00.000-08:00

24 hours after the grass cutting ceremony, the new skate park takes form with the sub contractor for Gravity Parks securing the site and laying foundations. This area was a forgotten corner of Rock Park and will shortly become one of the busiest as the project gets under way.

Welcome to my Blog

2009-01-28T04:25:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Blog,

I moved to Barnstaple four months ago now and have been eagerly awaiting the construction of the new Rock Park project. I have tried follow the progress of the project on the internet but found this hard so decided to start a blog to enable everyone to keep up to date with construction. I'm not sure where this blog will lead but I'm hoping it will become a place where everyone can come together. Please feel free to comment and share your views on this blog. Thanks for reading, stay in touch.

Jay Watson