Radlands

History of Radlands

Radlands was a skate park situated in Northampton, England. It was constructed in 1992 by the Ince family (Chris and his sons Dee and Stee) in a former warehouse and was the first ever indoor skate park built in Britain. The 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) park was, before its closure, one of the largest in Britain. The owners claim that over 250,000 people used the park in its 12 years of operation. It was closed on 10 October 2004 due to being unprofitable, despite a campaign by local councillors on Northampton Borough Council to save it.

In 2009, the Liberal Democrat administration at Northampton Borough Council, working with Northampton Skate Park Action Group, started to investigate how a skate park of national significance might be built in Northampton. In 2011, the Liberal Democrats pledged £250,000 towards the build costs. Despite the change of political leadership at the council in May 2011, the project was able to continue and Northampton Radlands Plaza was opened at Midsummer Meadow, Bedford Road, Northampton on Saturday July 21, 2012.