If you are a UK skater and don't know, you really should!
The Undercroft was an unused space appropriated as a cultural and recreational facility within the South Bank complex on the south side of the Thames in the centre of London that has been used consistently by skateboarders for 50 years. That's right. This week is the golden anniversary. It feels really odd to write that fact about a skatepark. I mean, how many other spots can you name in this crumbling country of ours that can boast five decades of consistent use?
It's not been a completely trouble free half century by any stretch of the imagination. I can't comment on the events before 1983 but I can clearly remember my disappointment when the first set of railings went up at the top of the banks back in the 80's some time. And the threat of closure that loomed over the place through the 90s. Not forgetting what felt like the overnight shrinkage of the undercroft in the early 00s. And what was all that guff about closing it recently so the area could be redeveloped? It seems like a lifetime of trouble if you list it like that.
But now, thanks in no small part to the Long Live South Bank organisation, the Undercroft is safe. Lambeth Council accepted LLSB's application for the Southbank Undercroft to be listed as an "Asset of Community Value" under the Localism Act 2011 on 12 July 2013 following the receipt of 33,000 planning permission objections and after months of negotiations, the Southbank Centre and Long Live Southbank signed a binding deal with Lambeth Council to guarantee the long-term future of the skate spot on 18 September 2014. The joint press release said "Following talks that have taken place over the last three months, Long Live Southbank and Southbank Centre are delighted to have reached an agreement that secures the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft as the long-term home of British skateboarding and the other urban activities for which it is famous."
I visited the Undercroft many times in my teens but my skating changed as I grew and I skated there less and less. And I estimate that the visit that produced these two photos back in June 2014 with Milk Skateboards was probably my first visit in about 15 years. And I haven't been back since. It's on the list. Along with The Spot in Tottenham Hale and Stockwell. You know, I just haven't had, or made the time. As I said, it's on the list.
No doubt the next 50 years will not be trouble free, but let's hope the support of Boris, the 20th Century Society and Lambeth Council amongst many others will calm the winds of change a little and keep this historic site a spot for many skaters in the years to come.
So raise your glasses, here's to you Southbank and another 50 years. Three cheers for The Undercroft. Hip hip...
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| Fuller - One Foot |
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| Jasper Pegg - wallie f/s board bigspin |
#fourwheelfools #uk #skateboarding #southbank #50years #happybirthday #london #undercroft #jasperpegg #milkskateboards
