Horsham District Council - Skate Park

Horsham District Council (HDC) invites skate park construction providers to contribute to a pre-procurement engagement exercise to help shape a future tender process.The Council currently has a skate park in Horsham Park which is a combination of tarmac base and large plywood ramps and are looking to explore options on how best to renew the skate park to a maximum budget of £250k. This Pre-Market Engagement event will assist HDC in preparing for a procurement exercise during 2021 with the contract commencing in early 2022. The Pre-Market Engagement event will take place virtually on 14th May 2021. This will be an opportunity for prospective suppliers to have a one-to-one meeting with Council representatives, which will be focused on understanding from the supplier’s perspective, the optimum scope the Council could consider. Those organisations who express their interest to procurement@horsham.gov.uk by 3rd May 2021 will be provided with further information. Project Background:Horsham Skate Park is an extremely popular and important youth facility based centrally in Horsham Park, but with a sub-District catchment. It is perhaps the most well used free facility used by teenagers in the Horsham District. The park is used for skateboarding, inline skating, scootering and BMXing.The existing Skate Park is constructed in plywood and is very costly to maintain effectively, due to the level of wear. Over the last five years £100k has been spent on maintenance which provided short lived solutions. Further repair is very difficult as the timber frame as well as the plywood ramps are now decaying, and this is a significant health and safety risk for the users. Skateboarding is due to make its Olympic Debut at Tokyo in both street and park disciplines. This is an opportunity to build a facility to inspire future generations. The existing facility is approx. 1000m2 with a series of ramps and jumps to suit both beginners and the more advanced riders. Replacement would either be with moulded concrete, or new laminate ply on a steel frame, or a combination of the two. Concrete is more durable, but more expensive to install and to remove at the end of life. The laminate ply is cheaper to install and arguably gives a better ride, but would require much higher annual maintenance and potentially replacement cost. The Council has already created a consultation group consisting of members of the street sports community. The group has met to discuss options for a new layout which incorporates the larger ramps for the BMX community, a lower level street sports area and a beginner’s area. The choice of material has been a contentious issue as many BMX riders wish to retain the plywood riding surface and don’t want to see the ramps constructed from concrete, but the Council is concerned that plywood is not viable to maintain long-term. Project Scope:To include - all surfaces & ramps within the pink line shown on "HP-SK-102 Extent of Layout.pdf"- three sets of steps- new path- drainage- reinstatementPlease contact us at procurement@horsham.gov.uk to find out further information.