Save Barking Better Extreme Indoor Skatepark
The Issue
Barking Better Extreme skatepark is set to be replaced by padel courts.
London will then lose its only full size indoor skatepark despite huge community opposition.
This is an essential community space in a deprived borough. Wheeled sports are highly weather dependent and we need safe spaces. The skatepark was made using significant public funding - The Sport England Improvement Fund. Yet there has been no community consultation from GLL before the final decision has been made. Feedback forms were offered to the skatepark community after we were informed of the planned closure date of July 31st. There is huge public opposition to its closure. It is also a place of national significance, training young people in the Olympic pipeline.
Barking better extreme skatepark is home to a thriving community from across the city.
Works have already begun. The climbing wall inside the skatepark has been dismantled. It is set to be moved to another part of the centre. But the skatepark is set to be removed.
We have backing from local MP Nesil Caliskan and from Skateboard GB, the sport's national governing body.
Our demands: For Better to scrap the planned closure date of July 31st and halt planned action to remove the skatepark.
Barking Better Extreme was built with a £500,000 public grant from Sport England.
The local community needs it. Barking and Dagenham is one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK, with some of the lowest physical activity levels of any London borough.
Better cites a decline in usage as its reason for closing. But many users feel this isn't the full picture.
They say that Barking remains essential to a large and passionate local and wider community. They have said they believe the usage decline may have been affected by repeatedly cut opening hours which made the park more difficult to access and a lack of promotion of the space. Users also cite that Better turned away funded community coaching, and ignored repeated attempts to engage from both local users and Skateboard GB.
Better now plans to replace the skatepark with padel courts — a sport that is typically far less accessible and inclusive than skateboarding, and many users feel its a poor fit for the community this facility was publicly funded to serve.
We are writing as the community that uses it every week: skateboarders, scooter riders, BMXers and roller skaters, complete beginners and national competitors, 6-year-olds and 60-year-olds.
We are a passionate and diverse community, committed to this park's future. We are asking Better to work with us to help it thrive.
Why Barking Matters
Barking and Dagenham has some of the lowest physical activity levels of any London borough.
Losing Barking Better Extreme would mean losing one of the borough's few genuinely engaged, active sporting communities, at exactly the time it should be protected and built on.
Many local users say they would simply have nowhere else to go — no comparable indoor facility within reach, and no realistic alternative to continue the sport they've built their routine, fitness and friendships around.
Skateboarding, scootering, BMX and rollerskating are among the fastest-growing sports in the country. But the safe, dry, weatherproof spaces they depend on are disappearing fast.
Barking is one of only 5 indoor skateparks left in the whole of Greater London, and the only one built to full size. For people across East London and beyond, it's the only place they can ride all year round, whatever the weather.
It's also one of the safest. A UK-wide audit of skateable spaces by Goldsmiths, University of London, found indoor skateparks to be the safest type of skate facility there is — particularly for women and girls.
Female participation in these sports is growing faster than ever. Parks like Barking are exactly the kind of space that makes them feel welcoming to people who might not otherwise try.
London already has fewer places to skate than its population should expect. Losing one of its few indoor parks would hit women, girls and beginners hardest of all.
Beyond sport, Barking is a community hub. Groups like Skater Uktis, Other Skate Co and London Skate Mums have built real friendships and support networks around this park, drawing in people of every age and background, from the local area and well beyond it.
For many of us, it matters as much for our mental health as our physical fitness: a safe place to be active, meet people, and switch off. With few other places nearby to skate safely, it also gives young people somewhere positive to be, rather than nowhere at all.
Barking Better Extreme was built using substantial public investment. Sport England awarded £500,000 towards developing an extreme sports facility including the indoor skatepark and climbing wall at the site — the second phase of a wider refurbishment of this former Olympic training facility, which had already seen £400,000 spent updating its studios and training zones.
GLL put a further £250,000 of its own money into the scheme, bringing the total invested in the extreme sports facility to £1,150,000.
At the time, GLL's managing director said the project reflected the company's ambition to “get more people more active, more often,” and was designed to reach young people who had drifted away from traditional sports. Sport England said the investment was about building a “lifelong sporting habit” among young people.
That was the promise — a facility built to create a lifelong sporting habit, re-engage young people who had switched off from traditional sport, and serve as a lasting community asset as part of the London 2012 Olympic legacy.
Barking and Dagenham is a borough with real need for accessible, free-to-low-cost sport and activity.
The same community who was highlighted as intending to serve is the one now being shut out — with no consultation before the decision to close.
Barking has shown what it's capable of, too. In 2024, it hosted Survival of the Sickest, a national youth skateboarding competition, with outstanding feedback from competitors, parents and organisers on both the event and the quality of the facility itself.
Other UK indoor parks have gone on to host national championships broadcast live on BBC Sport and iPlayer.
As a former Olympic training facility with the scale and quality to support serious progression, Barking has real potential to help develop future athletes — and, with Team GB's success at the Paris Olympics putting British skateboarding in the spotlight, a destination that brings visitors and spending into the borough.
Our concerns
Despite all this potential, the people who use Barking have watched it decline, with what they report as little explanation from Better.
A social enterprise, Everyone on Boards, secured funding to run free coaching for youth and beginners at the park over the summer of 2024. The facility manager told them it couldn't go ahead, even though the funding would have covered venue and staff costs.
No alternative coaching provision has been offered to the local community since.
Skateboard GB, the sport's national governing body, has repeatedly offered to work with Better and GLL on coach accreditation and training, to help build steady year-round revenue through coached sessions, and to support hosting future events. It has received little to no response.
Better has confirmed it has decided to close the Skatepark, citing annual financial losses and a decline in user numbers — from 10,142 in 2024 to 7,880 in 2025 — despite what it describes as numerous strategies to stimulate usage.
Better has stated it believes converting the space to padel courts will generate greater usage and be more commercially sustainable.
This isn't the whole story.
There is a large community who value and desperately need this space, and strong, growing resistance to its proposed closure.
The community and partner organisations have made repeated, genuine attempts to engage — offering funded coaching, proposing a dedicated skatepark membership, and asking for extended and more accessible hours. They have consistently been turned away or met with silence.
Many users believe that converting the space to padel would move the facility further away from the , open and inclusive use it was publicly funded to provide.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has confirmed it has no power over Better's decision, as the facility is operated and run by Better/GLL. That makes it more important than ever that Better itself hears directly from the community it is about to shut out.
It remains one of the only places in East London where people of any age, background or ability can skate, scoot or ride safely, all year round.
Voices from the Community
Evening slots, favoured by working adults, and weekend morning slots were withdrawn one by one, leaving many longstanding members with no time that fit their schedule. Several describe having attended multiple times a week before these cuts, only to stop entirely once the hours accessible to them disappeared.
Community members have also raised concerns about equity of access, noting that skateparks have become increasingly diverse, welcoming spaces in recent years — a trend this facility's reduced hours now risk undermining.
What We're Asking For
We call on Better, GLL, Sport England and local decision-makers to work with the community to secure the future of Barking Better Extreme.
Our primary and immediate demand is this: Better must halt the closure and any further works or demolition at the site now,
Once the closure is halted, we ask for:
Meaningful engagement with the skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating communities, including regular users, local organisations and coaches.
A full reconsideration of plans to convert the space to padel courts, given the loss of a rare, publicly-funded, inclusive facility this would mean for skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating communities.
Publication of the evidence behind this decision: specifically, what research or demand data shows greater local demand for padel than for skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating in Barking and Dagenham.
Greater transparency regarding how public funding objectives and Olympic legacy commitments are being met.
A review of opportunities to increase participation and revenue through coaching programmes, events, competitions and community partnerships.
Exploration of new Sport England funding opportunities and other partnerships that could support long-term sustainability.
Improved communication with users and stakeholders regarding decisions affecting the facility.
We also ask supporters to sign our petition, share it widely and help us open a constructive dialogue with Better and GLL.
Our goal is not simply to save a building. It is to protect a unique community asset, preserve a valuable public investment and ensure that future generations continue to have access to a safe, inclusive and inspiring place to ride.
*Add your voice*
Barking Better Extreme could be a model for what an indoor skatepark can do for a community and for British sport. We don't want to lose it.
We're asking Better, GLL and everyone with a say in its future to sit down with us and find a way forward, and we're asking everyone who cares about safe, accessible places to skate, scoot and ride to sign our petition and help us be heard.
With hope and determination,
Friends of Barking Extreme Skatepark
I
2,438
The Issue
Barking Better Extreme skatepark is set to be replaced by padel courts.
London will then lose its only full size indoor skatepark despite huge community opposition.
This is an essential community space in a deprived borough. Wheeled sports are highly weather dependent and we need safe spaces. The skatepark was made using significant public funding - The Sport England Improvement Fund. Yet there has been no community consultation from GLL before the final decision has been made. Feedback forms were offered to the skatepark community after we were informed of the planned closure date of July 31st. There is huge public opposition to its closure. It is also a place of national significance, training young people in the Olympic pipeline.
Barking better extreme skatepark is home to a thriving community from across the city.
Works have already begun. The climbing wall inside the skatepark has been dismantled. It is set to be moved to another part of the centre. But the skatepark is set to be removed.
We have backing from local MP Nesil Caliskan and from Skateboard GB, the sport's national governing body.
Our demands: For Better to scrap the planned closure date of July 31st and halt planned action to remove the skatepark.
Barking Better Extreme was built with a £500,000 public grant from Sport England.
The local community needs it. Barking and Dagenham is one of the most deprived boroughs in the UK, with some of the lowest physical activity levels of any London borough.
Better cites a decline in usage as its reason for closing. But many users feel this isn't the full picture.
They say that Barking remains essential to a large and passionate local and wider community. They have said they believe the usage decline may have been affected by repeatedly cut opening hours which made the park more difficult to access and a lack of promotion of the space. Users also cite that Better turned away funded community coaching, and ignored repeated attempts to engage from both local users and Skateboard GB.
Better now plans to replace the skatepark with padel courts — a sport that is typically far less accessible and inclusive than skateboarding, and many users feel its a poor fit for the community this facility was publicly funded to serve.
We are writing as the community that uses it every week: skateboarders, scooter riders, BMXers and roller skaters, complete beginners and national competitors, 6-year-olds and 60-year-olds.
We are a passionate and diverse community, committed to this park's future. We are asking Better to work with us to help it thrive.
Why Barking Matters
Barking and Dagenham has some of the lowest physical activity levels of any London borough.
Losing Barking Better Extreme would mean losing one of the borough's few genuinely engaged, active sporting communities, at exactly the time it should be protected and built on.
Many local users say they would simply have nowhere else to go — no comparable indoor facility within reach, and no realistic alternative to continue the sport they've built their routine, fitness and friendships around.
Skateboarding, scootering, BMX and rollerskating are among the fastest-growing sports in the country. But the safe, dry, weatherproof spaces they depend on are disappearing fast.
Barking is one of only 5 indoor skateparks left in the whole of Greater London, and the only one built to full size. For people across East London and beyond, it's the only place they can ride all year round, whatever the weather.
It's also one of the safest. A UK-wide audit of skateable spaces by Goldsmiths, University of London, found indoor skateparks to be the safest type of skate facility there is — particularly for women and girls.
Female participation in these sports is growing faster than ever. Parks like Barking are exactly the kind of space that makes them feel welcoming to people who might not otherwise try.
London already has fewer places to skate than its population should expect. Losing one of its few indoor parks would hit women, girls and beginners hardest of all.
Beyond sport, Barking is a community hub. Groups like Skater Uktis, Other Skate Co and London Skate Mums have built real friendships and support networks around this park, drawing in people of every age and background, from the local area and well beyond it.
For many of us, it matters as much for our mental health as our physical fitness: a safe place to be active, meet people, and switch off. With few other places nearby to skate safely, it also gives young people somewhere positive to be, rather than nowhere at all.
Barking Better Extreme was built using substantial public investment. Sport England awarded £500,000 towards developing an extreme sports facility including the indoor skatepark and climbing wall at the site — the second phase of a wider refurbishment of this former Olympic training facility, which had already seen £400,000 spent updating its studios and training zones.
GLL put a further £250,000 of its own money into the scheme, bringing the total invested in the extreme sports facility to £1,150,000.
At the time, GLL's managing director said the project reflected the company's ambition to “get more people more active, more often,” and was designed to reach young people who had drifted away from traditional sports. Sport England said the investment was about building a “lifelong sporting habit” among young people.
That was the promise — a facility built to create a lifelong sporting habit, re-engage young people who had switched off from traditional sport, and serve as a lasting community asset as part of the London 2012 Olympic legacy.
Barking and Dagenham is a borough with real need for accessible, free-to-low-cost sport and activity.
The same community who was highlighted as intending to serve is the one now being shut out — with no consultation before the decision to close.
Barking has shown what it's capable of, too. In 2024, it hosted Survival of the Sickest, a national youth skateboarding competition, with outstanding feedback from competitors, parents and organisers on both the event and the quality of the facility itself.
Other UK indoor parks have gone on to host national championships broadcast live on BBC Sport and iPlayer.
As a former Olympic training facility with the scale and quality to support serious progression, Barking has real potential to help develop future athletes — and, with Team GB's success at the Paris Olympics putting British skateboarding in the spotlight, a destination that brings visitors and spending into the borough.
Our concerns
Despite all this potential, the people who use Barking have watched it decline, with what they report as little explanation from Better.
A social enterprise, Everyone on Boards, secured funding to run free coaching for youth and beginners at the park over the summer of 2024. The facility manager told them it couldn't go ahead, even though the funding would have covered venue and staff costs.
No alternative coaching provision has been offered to the local community since.
Skateboard GB, the sport's national governing body, has repeatedly offered to work with Better and GLL on coach accreditation and training, to help build steady year-round revenue through coached sessions, and to support hosting future events. It has received little to no response.
Better has confirmed it has decided to close the Skatepark, citing annual financial losses and a decline in user numbers — from 10,142 in 2024 to 7,880 in 2025 — despite what it describes as numerous strategies to stimulate usage.
Better has stated it believes converting the space to padel courts will generate greater usage and be more commercially sustainable.
This isn't the whole story.
There is a large community who value and desperately need this space, and strong, growing resistance to its proposed closure.
The community and partner organisations have made repeated, genuine attempts to engage — offering funded coaching, proposing a dedicated skatepark membership, and asking for extended and more accessible hours. They have consistently been turned away or met with silence.
Many users believe that converting the space to padel would move the facility further away from the , open and inclusive use it was publicly funded to provide.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has confirmed it has no power over Better's decision, as the facility is operated and run by Better/GLL. That makes it more important than ever that Better itself hears directly from the community it is about to shut out.
It remains one of the only places in East London where people of any age, background or ability can skate, scoot or ride safely, all year round.
Voices from the Community
Evening slots, favoured by working adults, and weekend morning slots were withdrawn one by one, leaving many longstanding members with no time that fit their schedule. Several describe having attended multiple times a week before these cuts, only to stop entirely once the hours accessible to them disappeared.
Community members have also raised concerns about equity of access, noting that skateparks have become increasingly diverse, welcoming spaces in recent years — a trend this facility's reduced hours now risk undermining.
What We're Asking For
We call on Better, GLL, Sport England and local decision-makers to work with the community to secure the future of Barking Better Extreme.
Our primary and immediate demand is this: Better must halt the closure and any further works or demolition at the site now,
Once the closure is halted, we ask for:
Meaningful engagement with the skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating communities, including regular users, local organisations and coaches.
A full reconsideration of plans to convert the space to padel courts, given the loss of a rare, publicly-funded, inclusive facility this would mean for skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating communities.
Publication of the evidence behind this decision: specifically, what research or demand data shows greater local demand for padel than for skateboarding, BMX, scooter and roller skating in Barking and Dagenham.
Greater transparency regarding how public funding objectives and Olympic legacy commitments are being met.
A review of opportunities to increase participation and revenue through coaching programmes, events, competitions and community partnerships.
Exploration of new Sport England funding opportunities and other partnerships that could support long-term sustainability.
Improved communication with users and stakeholders regarding decisions affecting the facility.
We also ask supporters to sign our petition, share it widely and help us open a constructive dialogue with Better and GLL.
Our goal is not simply to save a building. It is to protect a unique community asset, preserve a valuable public investment and ensure that future generations continue to have access to a safe, inclusive and inspiring place to ride.
*Add your voice*
Barking Better Extreme could be a model for what an indoor skatepark can do for a community and for British sport. We don't want to lose it.
We're asking Better, GLL and everyone with a say in its future to sit down with us and find a way forward, and we're asking everyone who cares about safe, accessible places to skate, scoot and ride to sign our petition and help us be heard.
With hope and determination,
Friends of Barking Extreme Skatepark
I
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Petition created on 17 May 2026