Maldon Skate Jam
Inspiring young people to try wheel-based activities
To bring communities together and activate local green spaces, Maldon offered mini Skatejams and wheel-based workshops, providing a positive intervention for young people, reducing anti-social behaviour (ASB) and increasing physical activity, as well as giving children a sense of belonging.
Promenade Park suffered from high levels of ASB, youth nuisance, vandalism and substance misuse post lockdown, therefore it was important to raise the awareness of the positive interventions the skate park can bring to the local community.
Funded through Find Your Active and supported by London Marathon Foundation, mini skate jam workshops were offered through Maldon’s Essex ActivAte club to target young people who were eligible for families with deep inequalities.
At Dengie Skate Park, a workshop was run by King Ramps, a trusted skating partner, which included a taster session into wheel-based activities to introduce skateboarding to the local community. Young people were able to access the skate park with the equipment to inspire them to use the park more than they had done before, as it was a two-minute walk from their local Essex ActivAte club. The mini workshop was a taster session into the bigger event and was a success in inspiring young people to use their scooter or bike.
Following on from the taster sessions, the Maldon community skate jam event took place during Ride London weekend, which brought the local community together, as well as inspired young people to use their local skate park for free, helping to activate the space.
Maldon District Council, Maldon Community Safety Partnership, Essex Youth Service and King Ramps collaborated to ensure the event would be a great success, with Essex Youth Service working with young people and Maldon District Council revamp the skate park due to residents’ feedback.
Following on from the success from the event it highlighted the design, lighting, and safety were considered. Maldon District Council put forward an Essex Safer Streets bid in hope to improve the skate park which was approved in November 2023. The bid will hope to bring a well design park with young people input, being inclusive for young males and females, facilities to be safe and lit, CCTV and youth shelters.
