A long-awaited halfpipe is open for use in St Ann’s Chapel much to the delight of local youngsters.

The structure replaces the original halfpipe from the 1990s at the St Ann’s Chapel playing field skatepark which was removed in 2018 for safety reasons.

The day it was dismantled local Ben Dance, who was involved with the build of the original scheme vowed to ensure this valuable asset was replaced.

It took six years and £29,500 in funding from the local parish council to get the half pipe reinstated. Installed by ramp and skatepark design company Rampchild, it is made of birch plywood with treated timber internals and once more takes pride of place in the park.

Ben, whose family originally came from Reading, grew up in St Ann’s Chapel.

He said: “It’s been very very positive so far. Everyone has had a whale of a time with it. It’s been the right time of year, we’ve managed to get it done, so they’ve had half term and got the whole of the summer holidays coming up, it has been very popular.

“The thing with extreme sports, it encourages you to have your own style. You can have ten people doing the same trick yet everybody will have their own way of doing it whereas with football, if you don’t have the right haircut or the right pair of jeans, you’re an outcast.

“A lot of these kids have been bullied all the way through school but this place is a place for them to belong.”

The site was given to the original Millennium Group, as they like to call themselves, with the establishment of the first halfpipe. Ben feels they have a duty of care and responsibility to look after it themselves, and that’s exactly what they have done.

Not only did Ben and the group oversee the new installation, they remain hands-on continuing to look after their new asset.

A spokesperson for Calstock Parish Council said: “Ben and his son were on site when the halfpipe was being installed and were a great help in constructing and installing, and the users of the halfpipe have taken great care of it and the surrounding area, keeping it clear and doing litter picks before and after construction. In terms of contributions they have been an enormous help.”

Dreams for the site include work on the concrete which is now 23 years old and rather rough, and additional ‘street features’ for the park adding a flat rail to the mini ramp and grind box.

Ben, still very much a custodian of the site, hopes that with original planning in place, new items can be added in the future without any further permissions. He said: “It’s been a great place to grow up and a fantastic place to bring my children up which is why I haven’t gone very far.”

An official opening of the halfpipe, delayed due to the local elections, is now planned for later in the year with the hope that local skateboarding Olympian Lola Tambling will do the honours.