The Stokeplaza of Stoke on Trent is a one-of-a-kind circular skatepark that will make most streetskaters and BMX-ers pee their pants in excitement just looking at these pictures. With a wide variety of ledges, manuals, stairs and banks this is the perfect place for technical tricks and neverending lines. What’s especially nice are the ‘skatepaths’ that lead you to the skatepark; walkways through the centralpark of Stoke on Trent that were designed to be used by both skaters AND pedestrians!
With a population of around 470.000 people Stoke on Trent has an active skateboarding and a growing BMX scene and it was because of their mutual efforts that they managed to convince their city council to build them one of the most unique skateparks of England.

The non-profit, voluntary skateboarding association Stoke-on-Trent Association of Skateboarders (SAS) was born out frustration at the very poor quality of Watery Lane, a nearby modular skate facility that was built back in 2001. Experienced skateboarders such as Mark Shenton, Drew Sanger, Richard Simpson, Matt Moss, Steve Harnett and Steven Williams got together and tried to convince their city council that something needed to be done about the poor skating infrastructure in their area. With help from Andy Edwards from Hanley park and Donna from Youth Up Front the S.A.S. frequently organized STOKED skate jams on small portable skate obstacles.
In doing so they gradually persuaded Andy Heaward from the local city council and other local politicians to adopt a more unconventional way of looking at building skateparks. Instead of conventional modular designs the S.A.S. urged the need for a street oriented park made of high quality poured concrete. When you want to build a skatepark that lasts and meets the standards of the people using it poured concrete is the only available solution! A complete redevelopment of the Central Forest Park was already planned and the skatepark project could be part of this big ‘face-lift’ of the park.

Because of the success of their STOKED jams and the massive turnout for the Eastpak Transition Tour in the Hanley city centre in August 2003 it became clear to the city council that the general public appreciated the skaters & BMX-ers and the rest is as they say history. By February 2005 the building of Stokeplaza had begun and it was officially opened Friday the 28th of October of the same year.