Olympic BMX rider James Jones has backed major plans to improve skateboarding and wheel sports facilities in Swansea.
His backing comes within days of a workshop being held to further explore whether an initial design concept for a street plaza-style facility would work at the current location of the skate ramp at Victoria Park.
Swansea Council will be investing more than £2m in skateboarding and wheel sports facilities across the city.
Working closely alongside local communities and expert company Curve Studio, an improvement plan for many Swansea sites as well as Victoria Park is currently being worked on.
More workshops will follow in other areas of the city where improvements to skateboarding and wheel sports facilities will have maximum impact.
James, who was part of Great Britain’s freestyle BMX team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, grew up in Swansea’s Sandfields community and was a regular user of Victoria Park’s skate ramp as a youngster.
He said: “It’ll be amazing to have this kind of council investment in Swansea’s skate park environment. I’m coming to the end of my career now, but it will make a huge difference for young people in Swansea to have access to brilliant facilities in future.
“I’ve been riding for about 15 years but with amazing facilities in Swansea someone could be in my position or even better in half that time.
“The council investment will help the popularity of wheel sports further grow in Swansea, which will benefit not only young people but also older people who enjoy skateboarding and BMXing.
“This is great because it’ll encourage more people to spend time outdoors, which is healthy.”
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said: “We want Swansea to become one of the UK’s best cities for skateboarding and other wheel sports.
“This is why we’re investing over £2m in these facilities, following-on from our major investment to considerably improve dozens of children’s playgrounds across the city.
“James has already put Swansea on the global stage for BMXing, and we hope our investment will help inspire a future generation of wheel sports Olympians too.
“This is part of an overall plan to make sure most people don’t have to travel more than two miles to reach a redeveloped skateboarding or wheel sports facility in Swansea.”
