Site Basics
| Park name | Dunston Skatepark |
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| Postcode | NE11 9BL |
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| Address | Dunston, Gateshead · NE11 9BL |
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| Management / ownership | Gateshead Council |
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| Environment | Outdoor — uncovered |
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| Assessment basis | First-hand — assessor has skated this site |
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| Assessor | Shred The North |
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| Photographic record | Pending (Phase 2 structured visit) |
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Overall Assessment
| Total score | 47 / 100 |
|---|
| Classification | Poor |
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| Replacement suitability | Not suitable |
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| Enhancement priority | High |
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Category A: Location & Accessibility (20)
| Criterion | Max | Score | Notes |
|---|
| Town Centre Proximity | 5 | 2 | |
| Public Transport Access | 5 | 2 | |
| Catchment & Visibility | 5 | 2 | Very secluded and well hidden, flanked on two sides by tall trees and vegetation. |
| Parking & Drop-off | 5 | 1 | Hard to reach by car, with no real parking provision. |
| Subtotal | 20 | 7 | |
Category B: Physical Infrastructure (30)
| Criterion | Max | Score | Notes |
|---|
| Equipment Quality | 5 | 1 | Metal ramps in need of replacement; poorly designed and very limited. |
| Equipment Variety | 5 | 2 | Very limited. |
| Surface Condition | 5 | 1 | Uneven, rough tarmac, degraded over time and warped in places by weather and encroaching vegetation. |
| Size & Capacity | 5 | 1 | |
| Safety & Maintenance | 5 | 1 | Effectively unmaintained. |
| Amenities | 5 | 1 | |
| Subtotal | 30 | 7 | |
Category C: Weather Protection (20)
| Criterion | Max | Score | Notes |
|---|
| Weather Protection | 10 | 0 | Uncovered. |
| Drainage | 5 | 3 | |
| Lighting | 5 | 0 | Unlit — compounded by how secluded and hidden the site is. |
| Subtotal | 20 | 3 | |
Category D: Replacement Potential (30)
| Criterion | Max | Score | Notes |
|---|
| Site Expansion Potential | 10 | 10 | Adjacent open tarmac space (in better condition than the park itself) gives clear room to expand. |
| Roof / Cover Feasibility | 10 | 10 | |
| Planning / Heritage Constraints | 5 | 5 | |
| Ownership / Land Availability | 5 | 5 | |
| Subtotal | 30 | 30 | |
Site Context
Dunston's skatepark is very secluded and well hidden, flanked on two sides
by tall trees and vegetation. That concealment brings its own problems:
with poor visibility and no lighting the space is barely overlooked, and in
practice most of its visitors are not there to use the facilities as
intended — a clear antisocial-behaviour concern. It is also hard to
reach by car. Like every existing borough park it sits away from the town
centre and offers no covered, supervised, all-weather provision (see
§ 3.4).
User Observations
This is one of the worst-condition parks in the set. The floor is uneven,
rough tarmac that has degraded over time and been warped in places by
weather and encroaching vegetation; the ramps are metal and in need of
replacement; and the layout is poorly designed and very limited. It is
visually unappealing and effectively unmaintained. There is great potential
for improvement precisely because it is currently so bad, and it sits next
to an open tarmac space — in better condition than the park itself
— that it could be revamped and expanded into. The honest caveat is
that, given its seclusion and location, a revamped park would slide back
into the same disrepair without a frequent programme of activities to
encourage legitimate use. Formal user counts and structured feedback would
be confirmed through the Phase 2 community engagement programme
(§ 2.5).
Location
DUNSTON SKATEPARK — SATELLITE VIEW (ESRI WORLD IMAGERY)
Aerial location view; the postcode in Site Basics above links through to
Google Maps. A photographic site record will be added through the
Phase 2 structured visit.
Summary
Overall47 / 100 — Poor
StrongestReplacement potential, 30/30 — the maximum in the set; adjacent open space to expand into
WeakestInfrastructure, 7/30 — degraded tarmac, metal ramps, effectively unmaintained
VerdictMost room to grow of any park — but would need sustained activation; not a 5 Bridges replacement
Scored against the 100-point framework, drawing on aerial imagery,
public mapping and the assessor's first-hand experience skating the
site; a structured visit with a photographic record remains a Phase 2
step. Dunston scores 47/100 (Poor) on a thin and poorly-maintained
existing offer — low infrastructure (7/30), with degraded tarmac
and metal ramps in need of replacement, and like all the parks no weather
cover (3/20). What sets it apart is a maximum replacement-potential score
(30/30): with an adjacent open tarmac space alongside it, the site has the
clearest expansion and covering headroom of any existing park.
That is why § 4.5 flags Dunston specifically as a credible
longer-term enhancement candidate alongside the 5 Bridges
replacement. It cannot meet the covered-provision priority as it stands,
but it is the existing park with most room to grow — though, given
how secluded the site is, any revamp would need a sustained programme of
activity to keep it in legitimate use rather than sliding back into
disrepair.