Maverick Skateparks: Raising the bar for UK skateparks

Maverick was started in 2007 with the aim of bringing innovation to the UK skatepark industry by developing American-style, spray concrete skateparks.

With previous experience within the industry, directors Russ Holbert, Sam Reynolds, Mark Clogg and Sue Mitchener were aware of the limitations of other materials on offer and of rider preferences, so set out to create progressive park designs in smooth, durable concrete.

Based in Poole, the company has completed projects across the UK, from St Ives to Scarborough.

A sense of community

While skaters travel from far and wide to enjoy Maverick’s parks, the facilities are seen as a community space first. Maverick’s role is to guide community groups and local councils to deliver a well-designed and skilfully crafted, safe skatepark the whole community can be proud of.

The company’s skateparks are a communal hub not just for riders and skaters but their friends, parents and grandparents too. The spaces attract people who are diverse in age, abilities, ethnicity and socio-economic background, with a range of cultures and lifestyles.

Community support for skateparks can overcome many challenges. Virtual reality presentations showing how the finished development will look can be instrumental in gaining support from local people.

Maverick’s Mumbles skatepark project experienced delays due to a minority objecting to its prime seafront position. But a groundswell of support from the local community, including more than 5,700 signatures for an online petition, helped to carry the project through to completion. Councillor Pamela Erasmus, of Mumbles Community Council, said:

“We had a tricky journey from the start, but Maverick’s message was always that they would build this skatepark and would support us all the way. And they did. Maverick Industries has gained the council’s unerring trust, respect and gratitude.”

Jason Williams, chairman of Mumbles Skatepark Association, added: “Community support has been phenomenal, and the new skatepark will be a fantastic asset to the community.”

Signature projects

When Folkestone philanthropist Sir Roger de Haan set his mind on adding the world’s first multi-storey skatepark to his regeneration property portfolio for the town, his team called on Maverick to work with them on making his improbable vision happen.

The multi award-winning building has taken a considerable amount of skill, expertise and teamwork to create, with its three stacked floors dedicated to all types of skateboarding and BMX. The Maverick F51 concrete bowls are unique and an even more complicated feat due to being suspended in midair to form the structural beating heart of the building.

Describing the building in an article for The Guardian, Oliver Wainwright said: “The first floor is home to the spectacular bowl park, a sculptural symphony of polished concrete that plunges and swells in heart-stopping swoops, as if commanded by the late Zaha Hadid.”

Maverick hopes the timeless design of the three-tiered park will excite and inspire future generations of riders.

Concrete Waves in Newquay, another of Maverick’s flagship parks, was built in July 2018 to replace the original wooden skatepark which was falling apart and proving expensive for the council to maintain. Now a destination park attracting riders from all over the UK and across the pond, Concrete Waves is organised into four separate zones linking up to form an enormous flow park.

Demonstrating the park’s importance to the local scene, Newquay Town Council commissioned the addition of a new beginner’s area, completed in spring 2024.

Working with PKF Francis Clark

“As Maverick has grown, we recognised that we needed strategic business advice, not just accounting advice,” said Sam. “We were introduced to James Robinson and the team at PKF Francis Clark in Poole, who have really got to understand us as a director group and also the business, what we do and who we are.

“Through the projects and innovative work we do, James highlighted the possible tax benefits of research and development and also general tax saving advice, including making company pension contributions. James, Ashton Kerley and the team also work well with Sue and Lucy with any day-to-day questions that we have.”

James Robinson, partner at PKF Francis Clark in Poole, said: “Maverick’s success is based on a great team of directors, each bringing their own skills and really making a difference with what they design and build. “I remember my first skateboard in the ‘70s and riding BMXs in the ‘80s, and I just wish Maverick had been around then. That said, I think my skateboarding days are behind me, so I’ll stick to advising the directors and enjoying their creations in virtual reality.”