Vandals tear up £150,000 Chesterfield BMX track weeks ahead of reopening

Thanks to a years-long fundraising campaign, the track in Ringwood Park has been undergoing long-awaited upgrade works over the past two months to bring the facility back into full use after it was condemned on safety grounds, forcing the club to train away in Rotherham.

But on the evening Monday, June 1 – the latest in a series of similar incidents – unidentified riders broke through the temporary security fencing and raced around the track leaving deep tracks in the dolomitic limestone berms, which had been left just hours earlier to set and harden by builders.

Head coach and club secretary Libby Hawkins said: “This has been the most serious incident so far because it looks like multiple motorised vehicles, including a quad bike, which churns up the track and does even more damage.

“Thankfully there weren’t any deep ‘burnout’ holes this time. It would have been worse if the asphalt sections were still soft too. That would have left permanent tire marks and wasted £40,000. In the grand scheme of things this is less damage, but the impact now is potentially even greater.

“We’re so close to having it finished. British Cycling will be coming in a few weeks to inspect it, make sure it’s all up to regulations and sign it off for us to use. We need to make sure everything is in good working order for that.”

She added: “Our contractors Bike Track have offered to fix it for free, simply because they don’t want to see another facility go down the pan. We’re very grateful to them, otherwise the damage could have cost us another £5,000.

“It’s probably set our timetable back by a week or so. The main thing is that volunteers hare having to take a lot more time to ensure the safety of the site.

“Right now we’ve got people taking it turns to stay in the park until late every night. We’ve been inundated with community support and the police have been great but it feels a bit like we’re under siege.”

The BMX club was founded in 1984 and the track has a long and proud history, with a claim to have the first purpose-built asphalt corner in Europe – and now one of the newest too.

It is maintained on a long-term lease from Chesterfield Borough Council, who have supported the redevelopment by laying new drainage infrastructure and footpaths, and contributing cash investment alongside a number of other funding partners.

Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for planning and environment, said: "We’ve been working closely with Chesterfield BMX Club to upgrade the track in Ringwood Park, but repeated break-ins and illegal motorbike use are causing significant damage and delaying the project.

“Individuals have been breaking through the fencing to access the site, and this behaviour is undermining the hard work that volunteers and partners have put into improving this much‑loved facility.

"This track has been part of Ringwood Park for 40 years and remains an important community asset. The club’s volunteers have worked hard to secure additional funding to deliver these upgrades, and it’s unacceptable that their efforts are being set back by deliberate vandalism. Every delay pushes back the moment the community can enjoy the improved track again."

Libby, who rode for the club as a girl and then returned to help lead it 15 years ago, said: “I think people get confused because it’s council-owned land, they think they can use it as they wish. We want to keep it as an open, inclusive space but with that comes this kind of anti-social behaviour and that’s our biggest challenge.

“The track had been very heavily used before and the wear-and-tear got too much. We were once the leading BMX facility in the region, we used to host national competitions here every year, but the risks got too great and British Cycling said it was no longer safe.

“These kinds of incidents have been happening for years, and every time we tried to fix the track people would come back and burn it up again.

“We had to relax after getting too strung out but the community of volunteers got so depleted, and we were losing riders to other clubs. They could just go to Derby and never have to worry whether the track was usable.

“It’s not just the track we’re worried about though. There are other nuisances from young people thrashing through the park. To an elderly person walking a dog it stops feeling like a safe space. We’re working hard to make this a place where everyone can feel comfortable and get active.”

That sense of inclusivity even extends to the perpetrators of last week’s damage, whose footprint has been ramped up with the increasing popularity of electric bikes.

The illegal status of some of those powered bikes may be contributing to the problem in another way too, as the park makes a convenient escape route from police patrols in surrounding neighbourhoods.

Libby said: “I appreciate there are not many places for young people to go now, and they’ve clearly got skill to ride the course, so why not take off your balaclava put down your e-bike and come and have a go at racing for free at one of our BMX sessions.”

The club has riders of all abilities competing up to national championship level and an age range from under-fives to over-50s.

When the track officially reopens with a celebration event on Sunday, July 26, a programme of open-to-all BMX and mountain bike skills coaching – as well as sessions for girls only and riders with access needs – will return on Wednesdays and Saturdays and club activities will be happening on the track most days – naturally improving security alongside new surveillance cameras.

In the meantime, anyone who witnesses unauthorised riders on the track can help police build a picture of the problem and target their resources by making a quick report. Dial 101 or visit derbyshire.police.uk/ro/report/.

Cllr Stone said: “We are working with our community safety team and Derbyshire Police to identify those responsible, and we urge anyone who sees motorbikes being ridden on the track, or has information about who is involved, to report it to the police immediately.”

Chesterfield BMX Racing Club is also currently seeking local businesses for sponsorship of the reopening event. For more details, get in touch via [email protected], Facebook or Instagram.