All-weather, £750,000, 'specialist' bike park in Northampton paid for by the taxpayer STILL CLOSED after... heavy rainfall

An outdoor, all-weather £750,000 'specialist' bike park in Northampton paid for by the taxpayer is STILL partially CLOSED following the effects of heavy rain.

Northampton Bike Park, situated at the former Hardingstone Nine golf course at Delapre, has been partially closed all year following heavy rainfall damaging its west trails.

A notice at the site reads: "We regret to inform you that the west trails are closed until further notice. This is due to the persistent rainfall damaging the trails. East park is open as usual but is waterlogged in parts so please take care. Please do not ride any closed trails. Northampton Bike Park apologises for any inconvenience caused."

This newspaper first reported the closure on January 6. On that day, we saw one man using a spade to dig holes to drain the water off the tracks.

The next update from the Northampton Bike Park Facebook page was posted on January 13.

The post reads: "We know there has been radio silence from us for sometime.

"Rest assured there is a plan formulating to get the trails fixed and running again. All parties concerned are very keen to get them sorted.

"However, at this stage, we can't give you any concrete dates or actions. As soon as everything has been agreed we will publish the plan for repairs.

"We would just like to say thanks to everyone who has adhered to the request to keep off the closed trails, it really does help.

"Hopefully we will be open soon."

One Facebook user responded on Wednesday (February 1) saying: “Any update on this? Are trails still closed?”

Here is the update...

On Wednesday (February 1) half of the site still remains closed.

Cllr Adam Brown, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing, culture and leisure, said: “The east trails at Northampton Bike Park remain open. WNC and Northamptonshire Sport are continuing to work with the contractor to look at the localised drainage issues effecting the west trails and find suitable solutions.

“It is not unusual for mountain bike parks to have to close certain runs due to adverse conditions, and Northampton is no exception, but there will be measures we can take to minimise disruption in the future.

“We’re sorry that some users have not been able to access some of the trails in recent weeks and we’re really grateful for everyone’s patience while we work through this.”

A council spokeswoman said the contractor, On Track, is expected to return to the site on February 13 to carry out work.

"However this is subject to weather conditions and of course, any other issues outside of the council's or the contractor's control," the spokeswoman added.

"I'm afraid we don't have an exact date [of reopening] as it will depend on what the contractor advises once they arrive on site, but we are aiming for as soon as possible."

The site, which opened in September 2022, cost around £750,000 to build with £500,000 coming from the taxpayer and £250,000 coming from British Cycling's Places To Ride fund, which had a total pot of £15 million.