PLANS for a new pump track in Worcester are set for the go-ahead when councillors meet next week.
The proposed new pump track next to Perdiswell Leisure Centre is part of a ten-year Play Plan for improving facilities across the city, drawn up by Worcester City Council.
The council’s place and economic development committee will be recommended to give its backing to building a second pump track in Worcester when it meets on Monday June 23.
It follows the successful opening of one in Battenhall Park last year.
The new facility at Perdiswell would feature two separate tracks, one for more experienced users and another for children under the age of eight, making activities like BMX and skateboarding more accessible.
The council’s Play Plan notes that there is a shortage of play facilities in the north of the city and calls for more facilities for wheel-based play. The proposed pump track at Perdiswell would be a significant step towards meeting this need, located at the border of two of the city’s northern wards, Claines and St Stephen.
A public consultation, carried out in February and March this year, showed strong support for the pump track, with 88 per cent of the 824 people who took part saying this is the right location for it. Most of the respondents were local residents, with 79 per cent saying they lived within 15 minutes of Perdiswell Leisure Centre.
Coun Hannah Cooper, vice chair of the place and economic development committee, said: “If councillors support this proposal, our aim is to create a new destination pump track that people would travel to and enjoy, as well as meeting the need for more play facilities in the north of Worcester.
“The popularity of the smaller pump track in Battenhall Park shows what a popular sport this is, and that there is strong demand for another track in the city.”
If it gets the go-ahead, the Perdiswell Pump Track will cost £150,000, with the council’s play maintenance reserves providing £80,000 of that. The place and economic development committee will be asked to make a recommendation to the policy and resources committee that it agrees to allocate the outstanding £70,000 when it meets next month.
