News / Skating
Shredenhams to open to the public
The ‘Deben’ on the large Debenhams sign that still hangs above the building’s entrance along the Horsefair has now been covered by four large hot pink letters which spell SHRED.
The buzz was palpable on Thursday evening as passers-by peered through the windows of the former Debenhams in Broadmead and got a first glance at Shredenhams, the new skatepark popup that has taken over the space for at least the next six months.
Some ventured in to be greeted by a bar, a pool table, dartboards, arcade machines and an expansive skating area.
While Shredenhams is due to open to the public on Friday afternoon, Campus Skateboarding, the non-profit behind the skatepark, hosted a ‘soft launch’ on Thursday as a way to give back to their large community of friends, staff and supporters.
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Bristol24/7 got an insight into how tight-knit this community is when we sat down for a chat with Campus co-director Tim Nokes, only to have to pause our interview every two minutes as another friend of Campus tapped Tim on the shoulder to say hello.
One of these friends was Dave Faulkner, a director at Bristol Distilling Co and Extract Coffee Roasters, who helped put Shredenhams’ bar together.
Tim said: “Dave’s been in here building, fixing and welding stuff.
“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of amazing people.
“Almost all the effort on this has been DIY.
“It’s been the Campus team and then amazing people coming to help us from Extract, Bristol Beer Factory and Bristol Distilling Co who have physically been in the building.”
Some items from the former department store have been repurposed for the skatepark, like this former escalator
Campus were first approached about what Tim called a “surreal opportunity” to build a skatepark in the former Debenhams building in July 2024. Back then, the plan was to open up by October.
But, as Tim put it, “it took a lot of time to sort out the legal stuff”.
Campus only have a six-month lease on the property, which they hope will be extended to at least a year, as permission has been granted to eventually turn the former Debenhams into a major new development with a 28-storey tower.
After all the legal back and forth ended, “the actual build and fit out of the skatepark only took a month”.
Tim is excited to finally have the stress of putting the skatepark together behind him.
He said: “We’re closed Monday to Tuesday so on Monday I can properly relax.
“Next week is catch up week. Every other part of my life has been neglected through this project.
“My family needs some attention. The other two Campus skateparks (in Bishopsworth and Winterbourne) need some love as well. So, next week is going to be a nice week of getting back involved with the other projects.”
People who come to Shredenhams can skate if they want, but can also relax by the bar, play an arcade game or enjoy a round of pool
Campus was founded in 2011 to use the ‘positive energy and influence of skateboarding to engage with children and young people‘.
However Shredenhams, unlike Campus’ other skateparks, will only be open to over-16s.
Tim said the reason for that is because of how quickly Shredenhams came together.
He explained: “ I don’t know if people will believe it or not, but kids sessions, particularly toddler sessions and things like that, they take a lot of work to work out how to make work.
“A lot of health and safety, a lot of staff training and a lot of trial and error. In this location, with the amount of eyes on us, and the amount of people that it could attract, we’ve had to make it simple.”
Shredenhams will be Campus’ first skatepark that is targeted towards over-16s
However, Campus does plan to have ad-hoc sessions for under-16s at Shredenhams in future.
Tim said: “If we’re going to do coaching (for under 16s), it will be ‘Campus presents’ Saturday morning coaching sessions at Shredenhams.
“Having staff up to do that every single week is really really hard but, if we manage it by saying it’s a pop up within the pop up, and we do the same with under 11 sessions, or sessions for smaller children, we’ll set up a way of managing it.”
Tim is keen Campus doesn’t end up alienating the young people who have supported them over the years and said the team will “work hard to make sure we honour those guys and give them the space they deserve”.
The team only have a six-month lease but hope it will be extended further
While Shredenhams will remain in the former Debenhams building until at least August, the team are hoping their lease will get extended so skaters get the opportunity to shred during the wintertime too.
“We really want a winter,” Tim said.
In the meantime, the newest Campus skatepark has several events coming up, including an adaptive skateboarding event for wheelchair users, cohosted with Skateboard GB, which will take place in May.
However, Tim is most excited about getting more opportunities to connect with Shredenhams neighbours in Broadmead.
He said: “There’s issues in Broadmead: there’s a lot of homelessness and substance misuse.
“We want to do something positive here and bring people here for more than just retail…I’ve been going to the John Wesley’s New Room cafe. I think mainly people over 65 go there.
“But I’ve been going in there and having a coffee and I got chatting to a lady that was working in there. And she was asking me how it was going…she’d heard of Campus Pool (Campus’ skatepark in Bishopsworth).
“The fact that people on this strip know who we are? That’s wicked.”
Shredenhams will officially open to the public from 3-11pm on Friday. People who attend the launch event can expect cocktails, DJs and free skate passes.
All photos: Rob Browne
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