HOW TO GET FUNDING FOR A PUMP TRACK

A pump track is a great place to get kids on bikes. Here’ s how one community pulled together to create one in their local area

We chat to a group of cyclists to find how theirs is at the centre of their cycling community

One of the best places to help keep kids active and motivated on their bikes is a pump track. These purpose-built tracks, which feature rollers, jumps and berms, are great for honing a whole range of bike skills and can provide hours of entertainment, with the added bonus of being a great workout into the bargain. They’re suitable for all ages, don’t take up a whole lot of space and you don’t need any specialist equipment to ride on one, other than a bike and a helmet.

People power

A prime example of just such a track is Wroughton, on the outskirts of Swindon. Its beautifully-crafted ribbons of tarmac are populated every hour of summer daylight by all kinds of locals, from four-yearolds on balance bikes to teenagers, parents and even grandparents!

The track represents the culmination of three-and-a-half years of hard work by a trio of local parents and avid mountain bikers –

Ben Leach, Jennifer Purcell and Andrew Vodden. Working together, they successfully raised £45,000 to build it, negotiated free materials from local building suppliers, recruited expert trail builders and rallied the support of the community and the council.

Think local Frustrated by the distance to the nearest pump track – some 25 miles away – Leach got the project started after the council asked for ideas for the redevelopment of the local recreation ground. The upshot was that they agreed to provide the land if Leach could get the funding and local support, which is when BMX Wroughton was born.

But why ‘BMX’ rather than pump track? “Most people don’t know what a ‘pump track’ is, and ‘cycle track’ is ambiguous. Most understand what a BMX track is though,” says Leach. Making sure everyone understood what was being proposed was essential to getting community support. The group set up an online survey, a website and Facebook group, and placed notices in the local newspaper and parish newsletter, getting 300 responses, with 96 per cent in favour. “For the size of the village, that’s pretty big!” smiles Purcell.

One concern people had was antisocial behaviour, but that hasn’t materialised at all at Wroughton. In fact, evidence suggests pump tracks reduce antisocial behaviour – a 2009 study of a pump track built by Back On Track in the Rhondda Valley saw a 70 per cent drop in incidents in the area.

Getting the money together was the part of the project that took the most work and time. The bulk of it came from a massive donation from the local landfill site, who, it turns out, are able to divert 90 per cent of their landfill tax payments to local communities. “We got more money from two nearby solar farms, some from Tesco, with the tokens in-store, and we even joined our local carnival parade,” explains Leach.

Once the money was in, it was time for the fun part of actually building the track, with BMX Wroughton opting to hire Trailcraft to construct it. “They were amazing,” says Purcell. “There was definite pride in doing a good job – they wanted to leave us with something everyone would love riding.”

The group opted for a tarmac-surfaced track, which requires less maintenance, and a design that has an outer loop with big features and a smaller inner loop with smaller features – both loops linking together – so that all abilities would have something fun to ride, while making the best use of the space available.

Ready to ride

The fences around the new BMX Wroughton track came down on the evening of Wednesday 20 June. “There were crowds of kids circling!” laughs Purcell. “It seemed like the whole village was there!” The enthusiasm has lasted too, with the track almost constantly occupied since then, becoming a focal point for the community.

“It’s attracted loads of kids that didn’t ride bikes before, plus a large range of adults and lots of mixed abilities,” Harry, 14, tells us, who’s been riding at the track up to six days a week since it opened. “I often help out sweeping the track and giving kids goes on my bike,” he adds.

“On this track, Harry's king!” says Purcell. Since the grand opening of the £70,000 facility, the BMX Wroughton team have had frequent emails from others who want to get pump tracks in their local areas too. So what are they key pieces of advice they’d give?

“For me, the keystone of everything was the survey,” says Leach. “Do that first and do it properly. And don’t give up – we got knocked back several times but we got our track built in the end.”

Purcell agrees, and adds: “Put a good team together to get it done! Although there were only three of us, we were all passionate about making it happen.” Purcell and Leach also highly recommend writing everything down, particular from council meetings.

Galvanising community spirit, encouraging outdoor exercise and getting more people on bikes – there are so many positives to getting a pump track built in your area. And while a track might not change the world, it will sure as hell make where you live a more fun place to ride your bike, whatever your age.