‘Long-anticipated’ Waverley Skate Park Planned for Cranleigh

Published on: 18 Jul, 2025
Updated on: 19 Jul, 2025

Cranleigh Leisure Centre will be demolished and replaced

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

A “long-anticipated” and “much-needed” new skate park is coming to Cranleigh after Waverley Borough Council unanimously backed spending £650,000 in developer money on the project.

The cash will be used to purchase land for the skate park as well as its installation, although full details surrounding the project are still being kept private and confidential – including where it will be built.

The new site is set to replace the old out-dated skate park which is being torn down as part of the March 2025 planning permission to replace Cranleigh Leisure Centre.

Addressing Waverley Borough Council on Tuesday July 15 was Councillor Liz Townsend, portfolio holder for planning.

She said the skate park would be an “important addition to recreational facilities in Cranleigh and the surrounding villages which have experienced significant development over the past few years”.

The project is to be fully funded via Section 106 and CIL – essentially money paid by developers as part of the planning process to provide needed infrastructure within the borough.

Cllr Liz Townsend

Lib Dem WBC Executive member, Cllr Townsend, said: “The new skate park has been long anticipated and will be a much-needed and necessary upgrade from the existing skate park.

“There is a huge amount of interest in the project already and its design.

“There are some extremely enthusiastic future users of this facility.

”The new skate park represents a fantastic opportunity to build a new and existing community space on a new site. “

A budget of £647,125 has been agreed, and although there was a single voice of dissent over the cost, the plan was ultimately given the full backing of every member present.

Cllr Jane Austin

Cllr Jane Austin, leader of the Conservative opposition group, said: “This is really great for Cranleigh and as a Cranleigh school parent I am really pleased to see the area shortlisted has more space than just for a skate park, so I’m just forwarding that a pump track or padel or all of these things would be good news for Cranleigh generally.”