'Crazy idea' to turn department store into skatepark

The team behind a "crazy idea" to transform a closed department store into a skatepark says it is better than it being left abandoned.

The former Debenhams building in Bristol city centre will eventually be knocked down to make way for a 28-storey tower block.

But before then, its ground floor will be transformed into a purpose-built skate park that will be open for a year from March.

"I think it's every skateboarder's dream," said Tim Nokes, the director of Campus Skateboarding which is creating the skatepark.

He said the ground inside the former department store is "perfect" for skateboarding.

"[It's] nice and flat and smooth, and it has good hard tiles for a good crisp clean pop," he said.

Campus Skateboarding, a not-for-profit, has previously turned a swimming pool and youth centre into two permanent skateparks in Bristol. It has also set up temporary parks at schools and festivals.

But Mr Nokes said the Debenhams scheme is on a scale his team has "never seen before".

"It is a crazy idea and it's also a fantastic opportunity," he added.

"Hopefully other people get behind it and enjoy it as much as we will."

There are hopes the space will be able to host other alternative sports and activities such as bike polo and roller derby.

James Woodwards, director of property consultancy Hartnell Taylor Cook, said it really needed to "think outside the box" to find a temporary use for the closed store.

"The rise of leisure in city centres got us thinking about how we could use the big open space, and we quickly landed on a skatepark concept," he said.

"We thought it might be a difficult sell, but Campus has such a strong reputation for its brilliant skate facilities, and the temporary parks that it sets up at festivals, schools and other central locations, that the idea quickly gained traction."

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