'A massive thing for the town' - new pump track on Whitby's West Cliff set to open soon

The Whitby Gazette first reported in March 1983 that young BMX enthusiasts had asked the town council if it could help provide them with track.

More than four decades later, the pump track is on the brink of reality, with an opening planned for later in April / early May.

The idea is to engage the community in a fun, safe experience, free from traffic, for all ages and abilities, with open access at all hours.

Whitby's Scott Wicking, founder and the main driving force behind the community-led project, said a collective of local bikers had been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it happen.

He said: “It’s one of the best things to have happened in Whitby for a long time.

"I came up with the idea in 2019 after seeing the resurgent interest in BMX / MTB following the Olympics and the growing popularity of pump tracks worldwide.

"This revived memories of the attempt in the 80s, so I thought it worth trying again.”

He said there was a track built on part of a car park in Grosmont in the 1990s which produced a lot of professional and semi-professional mountain bikers.

They built, maintained and improved the track themselves over the years.

"Those guys like myself are of a more mature age now, some with kids and grandkids who are keen to ride, but there's nowhere locally to do it, until now,” said Mr Wicking.

"Pump tracks are a blast to ride.

"It’s so fun, people don’t even know they are getting exercise.

"It caters for all skill levels, from people just learning, to more advanced riders able to shred.

“It’s a world class asset for the town, by the community, for the community and everyone’s very excited.

"We'll be having an official opening in the coming weeks.”

A pump track is a track for wheeled sports equipment that, when ridden properly, does not require pedalling or pushing, but a “pumping” action to maintain momentum.

It is a continuous circuit of banked turns inter-spaced by rollers and other features.

Mr Wicking began cycling 40 years ago when the first wave of BMX bikes appeared.

He graduated to mountain bikes in his early 20s and has continued to ride ever since.

He was part of the original campaign for a track in the 80s, and the two subsequent attempts to get a track built locally.

In 2020 he formed a non-profit making Community Interest Company with fellow enthusiasts, estate agent Nick Henderson and Witness owner Bill Orrell – and they came up with a site at Archery Green on the town’s West Cliff and opened discussions with the council and potential funders.

A survey of the local mountain bike community gave a very positive response and when a Whitby Pump Track Facebook group was set up, within three days it had more than 30,000 people looking at it.

Mr Wicking thanked Rose Engineering & his team led by D Wardell builders; Wilf Nobles & North Yorkshire Sport as the main funders; Bell Snoxell for planning matters; Cartwright Associates for the design and The Woodsmith Foundation for seed funding.

North Yorkshire Councillor Phil Trumper (Whitby West) has also been a big supporter.

Mr Wicking said the community had worked in conjunction with NYC which had “gone out of its way” to make it happen.

“We can't thank people enough - it wouldn't have happened without your support.

"The full list can seen on our FB page."

Click here to view the Facebook page.