Decathlon Surrey Quays has cancelled its skateboarding sessions and plans to replace the dedicated skate area with pickleball courts, removing one of the few affordable, safe and accessible youth activities in SE16.

Skate Haven has provided a welcoming, community-run space where children, teenagers, adults, and families can come together to be active, build confidence, learn new skills and form lasting friendships. The regular sessions have helped to form a vital skate community for Canada Water, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays.

We are not opposed to pickleball or to creating new sporting opportunities. However, new facilities should not come at the expense of an existing community resource that already serves local people so well. Skateboarding is a low-cost, inclusive sport that supports physical and mental wellbeing, creativity and community connection.

Removing these sessions contradicts Decathlon's commitment to making sport accessible to everyone and disproportionately impacts local young people and families who rely on this facility.

We call on Decathlon to listen to the community, properly consult Skate Haven and local users, and either retain the existing skate facility or work with the skate community to provide an equivalent alternative space. By working with Skate Haven, Decathlon can honour its commitment to accessible sport and ensure that this much-loved community asset continues to support and inspire future generations.

Please Sign this petition to help keep skateboarding alive in Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Canada Water, and Surrey Quays.