A WORLD champion in what is now an Olympic sport helped open a new facility at North Tawton during the afternoon of Thursday, May 9.

Kye Forte, world champion BMX Freestyle Dirt Jumping and the man behind the Red Bull Empire of Dirt, designed the Pump Track.

On Thursday he showed a bit of what made him world champion, giving the North Tawton youngsters something to aim for.

This was only part of the makeover for North Tawton’s Memorial Park which has seen a lot of changes during the past six months.

As a result of Section 106 funding from the Batheway Development, a new multi-use games area (MUGA) has been created. This was the first part of the work.

The MUGA offers chances for football, basketball, netball and tennis to be played on the hard surface.

Further funding from Den Brook Windfarm, the Durant Trust and North Tawton Town Council provided a trampoline, accessible basket swing, seesaw and a Me and You swing (where a parent can sit with a child) as well as new surfacing in the play area.

These improvements have been built by TK Play, a local family-run business which has worked closely with the town council.

Most dramatic of all is the creating of the skate and bicycle Pump Track offering an exciting range of challenges for skateboards, bikes, scooter users and even balance bikes.

This was designed and built by Forte Trailscapes with groundworks and surfacing by TK Play and funding from North Tawton Town Council.

Finally, further Section 106 monies has meant the sloping football pitch could be levelled with the much-needed replacement of goal posts when the grass has grown sufficiently.

Kye, based in Newton Abbot, explained that Pump is about using your arms and legs to provide momentum to avoid pedalling. "It is good for getting rid of a lot of energy for kids and it is satisfying to get around without pedalling," he said.

Town council chairman, Cllr Steve Whiteley, said that some of these ideas were "really new, less than six months", so new you would be unlikely to see them anywhere else yet.

"We put in an Agriflex surface made from recycled rubber which is porous. This makes the park useable all-year-round where before there had been muddy tracks and paths in the winter," he said.

"So far as we know this is the first Pump Track in the UK and we used Agriflex because it needs so much less maintenance," said Terry Warrington of TK Play, playground specialists based near Torrington.

"This is now an inclusive park because people with wheelchairs would find it easy to use and a lot of parks are not yet geared up for wheelchair users.

"Also, there is the nice car parking at the top with spaces for disabled drivers. I think this is one of the most accessible parks in Devon," he added.

The Memorial Park is certainly a changed place. Where the MUGA is had been a basketball court but not in very good condition, there had been a zip wire in the park and the artificial carpet had to be taken up.

Cllr Whiteley said there is now an area for toddlers, for juniors and space for older children.

"The park is being used a lot more and is a more vibrant place," he added. The whole project cost slightly more than £100,000 of which the Pump Track was £43,000.”