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The Source BMX skate park is opening next week in Hastings. It is set to be the world’s largest underground skate park and is expected to bring £2.8 million of new economic activity to the area.
As regular BikeBiz readers may recall, the project is using the site of a former Victorian swimming bath complex. SourceBMX – owned by brothers Rich and Marc Moore – is the company behind the project, which is expected to turn Hastings into a worldwide centre for BMX events.
The BMX skate park will bring new job opportunities, more young people and worldwide attention to Hastings – with a number of global BMX events expected to take place in the venue. Previously a town known for high levels of unemployment in the UK, Hastings is now reviving – with entrepreneurs proving the driving force behind the regeneration of seaside towns.
“Once a symbol of the plight of British seaside towns, Hastings is turning a corner," said Matt Smith, director of the Centre for Entrepreneurs think tank. "The Source BMX skate park – expected to bring £2.8 million of new economic activity to the area – is an example of how a new generation of entrepreneurs are rejuvenating seaside towns.
“As our ‘From ebb to flow’ report shows, entrepreneurship in seaside towns is driving new ideas, investment and jobs – and helping to bring young people into those areas. Seaside towns, such as Hastings, must therefore nurture local entrepreneurs and attract new enterprises if they are to prosper.”
