VIDEO: 'Flagship' mountain bike park in Northampton hailed as 'game-changing' - rough opening date revealed

A “game-changing” “flagship” free-to-use mountain bike park in Northampton is set to open later this month.

Northampton Urban Bike Park, situated on the former Hardingstone Nine golf course, is in the final stages of construction work and will open by the end of the month (August), according to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC).

The initiative was sparked three years ago by Northampton resident and bike enthusiast Tony Skirrow, who urged WNC to take advantage of British Cycling's 'Places to Ride' fund.

The site cost around £750,000 to build with £250,000 of that coming from the Places To Ride fund, which had a total pot of £15million.

A celebratory event was held at Delapre Golf Club on Thursday (August 11) which saw speeches delivered by WNC leader Jonathan Nunn, Amy Gardner from British Cycling and chair of Northamptonshire Sport, Steve Adams.

Councillor Nunn said: "Tony has been the energy behind this project and pushed the idea a bit further and we started to build a little momentum.

"British Cycling and Sport England have made such a fantastic contribution in bringing this project on.

"We've developed something here which regionally, if not nationally, is going to be significant. In the central region there is no other facility of this type.

"Northampton, and this facility in particular, is becoming somewhere really special to attract different audiences.

"Nothing would have worked without the spirit, collaboration and a shared vision of where we want to get to.

"Thank you to everybody that has been involved on this journey. Something exciting is really coming."

Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo, Tony said: "It's beyond what I thought it was going to be. It's fantastic. It's probably going to be a big attraction for more than just Northampton, it's going to be countrywide. People will come from a couple of hours away to use this park.

"This is an enormous investment and an enormous thing for Northampton to have this type of facility. Very few towns have anything approaching this as close to the town centre as we have here. It's unique."

Amy Gardner from British Cycling said the park is a “game-changer” for cycling.

She said: "This facility project absolutely hits the mark with all of our three aims: to inspire more people from a range of different backgrounds to get into cycling, provide more opportunities for people to cycle and make sure we have an accessible and inclusive environment.

"Secondly, we want to invest in facilities that are going to connect local communities... absolutely this facility is going to do that.

"Looking at the geography, the closest cycling facility has been two hours away, so to actually have a local space for people to ride… it's a game-changer.

"Thirdly, we want to use the money to create a lasting legacy, we want to make sure in 10 years time this facility is going to be here.

"There is something for everyone at this facility. I really believe that irrelevant of someone's postcode, bank balance or background, everyone can access this facility.

"Yes, this is a facility for the local community but also this is going to be a flagship tourist destination as well.”

Steve Adams added: "It's been an interesting journey...and a thrill to be involved with."

The park has been constructed by specialist firm On Track, which produces the UK’s “most popular bike parks”.

Click here to view On Track’s website.