'Massive milestone' for parkour community as new park opens in Peterborough

Seven years after plans were first being made, the city’s first dedicated parkour park has opened to the public.

The sequence of ledges, walls and rails has been installed at Oundle Road Recreation Ground following a partnership funded by Peterborough Council, designed by Aspire Parkour Academy- based in Peterborough- and built by Ten Group.

The park is a landmark feature for Peterborough as there are only 30 dedicated public parkour spaces in the entire UK.

The sport is growing well in the city. Kieran Wylde, who has run Aspire Parkour Academy for the last seven years, has seen membership growing round 100 members to well over 500 regular members and well over 1000 people passing through the doors to learn parkour.

Aspire is based at Axis Park in Manasty Road, Orton Southgate.

Kieran said: “It is really exciting to see the park so busy and its really good to see people that aren’t involved in parkour in any capacity using it.

"It’s really nice to see people discovering the sport in a natural way now the park is now there.

"In a flat place such as Peterborough, there is not much architecture that promotes parkour. The idea was to use as few walls and bars as possible but make as many ways to use it as possible.

"The key was to make the same equipment available and useable for beginners and elite practitioners.

"We are very grateful that the council believed in an funded the idea."

The creators of the park will be there on Sunday (June 14) at 12:30pm and are encouraging people to attend to celebrate the official opening.