In Their Own Words
89 of the 134 respondents (66%) wrote a personal account in response to the open-text question "In your own words, what did 5 Bridges mean to you and your community?" The themes below distil the recurring patterns across those answers; the quotes that follow are a representative selection, anonymised. Each carries light attribution — connection to 5 Bridges, postcode area, and where it adds context, age band or years in the activity. No names, contact details, or full postcodes are used.
Themes across the open-text answers
- The covered facility was unique in the region. The most repeated phrase across the 89 answers is some variant of "the only place to skate when the weather was bad" — this comes up in over half of the answers in some form.
- Community as the second-after-cover theme. Friendships formed there, networks built, mental-health support derived from the regularity of seeing the same people. Several respondents describe meeting their closest friends, partners, or skate crews at 5 Bridges.
- Heritage and identity. Multiple respondents reach back to the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s — describing 5 Bridges as a regional landmark, a place visited by professional skaters, and "the South Bank of the North East." The Tyne / North East skateboarding identity is closely tied to it.
- The youth third-place argument. A safe space outside of school and home; somewhere kids could be without trouble; an antidote to skating in unsuitable / dangerous locations.
- Wellbeing. Mental health especially, but also physical fitness — over winter, with no covered alternative, both have suffered.
- The regional draw. Respondents from Teesside, Northumberland, Durham, and as far as Yorkshire describe routinely travelling to 5 Bridges because nothing closer offered the same combination of cover, community, and quality.
- Specific design pointers for the replacement. Cover, lighting, smooth surface, quality concrete (not paving slabs), variety of obstacle sizes, beginner-friendly areas. Several explicitly request "just the same as what we had, with better lighting" — a mandate against over-engineering.
Selected voices
Bridges was the only place in the north east guaranteed to be able to skate no matter the weather. Because of this people would travel far and wide and this also meant you'd meet like-minded people from all over the north.
REGULAR USER · NE63 · 10+ YEARS
I can not stress enough the importance of a fully sheltered skate park for wheeled sports in the Tyne and Wear region.
REGULAR USER · NE38 · 45–54 · 10+ YEARS
There is a distinct lack of purely skateboard-focused places in the North East which was the main draw for 5 Bridges. For a community as big as our own we should feel like we have a place for our own again.
OCCASIONAL USER · DH9 · 10+ YEARS
Bridges was a safe haven in winter and the first go-to on a rainy day. It enables the action sport community to have a year-round facility regardless of weather which helped maintain friendships, build new ones and helped with everybody's mental health.
REGULAR USER · NE10 · 10+ YEARS
100 square feet of flat space covered over was such a lifeline. This really puts in perspective how little space we have in the North East… As parents we really can't continue to fund trips to Leeds and Glasgow and we should look to facilitate what we are seeing other local councils doing.
PARENT OF USER · NE10 · 35–44
It's now an Olympic sport — investment in youth areas will bring them on but also give youth an important place to hang out.
VISITED A FEW TIMES · NE38 · 45–54 · 10+ YEARS
5 Bridges was a good meeting point when travelling from Teesside. It would protect from the harsh winter weather so street skaters like myself could still get out, exercise and socialise with the Newcastle / Gateshead skateboarding community.
OCCASIONAL USER · TS18 · 10+ YEARS
We used to come from Hexham as it was our closest covered skatepark, allowing us to keep doing what we loved when the weather got bad.
OCCASIONAL USER · NE46 · 18–24 · 5–10 YEARS
We just need a simple replacement, nothing too complicated or over the top. Just the same as what we had, but lights for evening use would be beneficial.
REGULAR USER · NE21 · 10+ YEARS
5 Bridges offered something that is in short supply these days — a third place for the youth outside of school and home. It kept kids from causing trouble on the streets and served as an essential community space.
REGULAR USER · NE11 · 12–17 · 1–3 YEARS
I first went in the 80s, before there were any "official" skate obstacles there — it was already a legendary spot by then. It became a focal point for local skaters to meet and spend time on constructive, healthy activities. Do something positive and provide a decent facility for the youth.
OCCASIONAL USER · SR6 · 55+ · 10+ YEARS
I was new to the city and met my now closest friends at Bridges — that support network goes so far, especially when it comes to mental and physical wellbeing. It provided shelter across the winter months and single-handedly saved some skate and BMX careers. Now our community is suffering.
REGULAR USER · NE6 · 18–24 · 5–10 YEARS
As a beginner inline skater I loved that it was free, covered, and had beginner-style obstacles — rails, boxes and curved ledges. I learnt lots of new skills and met new people who helped me progress.
OCCASIONAL USER · TS25 · 45–54 · 1–3 YEARS
My first memories of 5 Bridges were watching demos as a teenager in the 2010s. More recently, as an adult, I used it to practise roller derby — it had enough open space to chalk a length of derby track. Roller derby is a huge sport in the north east, and being sheltered from the rain was a bonus.
OCCASIONAL USER · NE8 · 25–34
I met a lot of my skate friends at Bridges — it was even the first place I met my boyfriend. It was a comfort and helped me get introduced to the community. Losing Bridges made me skate a lot less; the indoor parks cost money and are 45 minutes away, and I know a lot of people stopped skating after the closure.
INSTRUCTOR / COACH · NE15 · 18–24 · 3–5 YEARS
A place to get out of the house and socialise while keeping fit when the weather is poor. It was great for the mental health of users, letting skaters get out on days we no longer can now the facility is gone.
REGULAR USER · NE5 · 12–17 · 5–10 YEARS
For me, 5 Bridges was unique — nowhere else in the country had anywhere quite like it. People came from far and wide to skate and ride. It felt more like a natural street spot than a skatepark, which is partly why professional riders and skaters from all over the world visited.
REGULAR USER · NE6 · 35–44 · 10+ YEARS
It had been the meeting place on a wet or snowy day since I was 13. It wasn't the greatest of spots, but it was ours. Now I'm nearing 38 and a parent, I'd started taking my boys there to ride their bikes and learn to skateboard too.
REGULAR USER · NE7 · 35–44 · 10+ YEARS
5 Bridges is what got me back into skating. The core group of skaters here is very inclusive to anyone who wants to skate, no matter their ability — it's what brought me back time and again. It got me fit again and mentally gave me a release from day-to-day stresses.
REGULAR USER · NE34 · 35–44 · 10+ YEARS
It was the south bank of the north east. Cover was the main reason for visiting — paying for indoor parks wasn't always an option without much money — so during the winter months there was always somewhere to skate. Side covering would help, as the rain could blow in from the side.
REGULAR USER · NE7 · 25–34 · 10+ YEARS
Data handling
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