It’s fantastic to be able to report that The Arc is opening at lunchtime today. We are delighted that after all the planning and hard work that this exciting new attraction for Chippenham can finally start to be enjoyed by the local community.
It’s a soft opening only at this stage due to some technical issues that The Climbing Academy (TCA), who are running the climbing centre, are experiencing with getting their internet up and running – but at long last people can go and have a look at our fantastic new facility for Chippenham!
Climbing initially will only be possible for climbers already registered with TCA with places booked the day before climbing. This is temporary measure only whilst they await a fix for their broken internet. Please visit the The Climbing Academy website to find out more and read all the latest information including: –
- The soft opening and temporary measures (including the latest opening times for the climbing centre, skatepark and cafe)
- More about the centre
- Answers to frequently asked questions
- Information for new climbers – including courses & taster sessions
- Information about the skatepark
The Arc Cafe will be open to all visitors – even non-climbers. This will initially be for hot and cold drinks, cakes and snacks – and cash only during this short temporary period whilst there are internet problems. The cafe will expand its offering to sandwiches, salads, pizza and more once card payment facilities are restored.
The Arc skatepark will have temporary opening hours from today until the climbing centre is fully up and running. Temporary opening hours for the skatepark and cafe from Wed 9th February* are in line with the temporary climbing centre opening hours which are: –
- Wed-Fri 12-5pm*
- Sat-Sun 9-5pm*
*Please note this information was correct at the point of publishing this blog post – check the TCA website for the most up to date info.
The brilliant team at TCA have been working really hard to get the centre open and will continue to do all they can to get the centre and facilities fully open for all to enjoy without the necessary temporary restrictions outlined above. Please be patient and show them your support in these early days when everyone is learning the ropes. Excuse the pun.
We hope you will enjoy and show your support for this fantastic new facility.
So what involvement does Chippenham Borough Lands Charity now have with The Arc?
The land that The Arc (climbing centre and skatepark) has been built on belongs to our charity. We have built the climbing centre, with support of a £100,000 grant from Sport England. Wiltshire Council gave a grant of £200,000 to our charity to build the skatepark element of the site and provide this community facility in Chippenham. The Arc skatepark belongs to Chippenham Borough Lands Charity. We own and are responsible for running it.
We have leased the running of The Arc to The Climbing Academy. This includes responsibility for daily health and safety checks of the skatepark and closing the site in accordance with the planning permissions of the build and weather restriction guidelines for skateparks. The skatepark opening times will therefore be in line with The Arc climbing centre opening times set by The Climbing Academy. The skatepark cannot be used in wet, icy or snowy weather and will be closed in these inclement weather conditions.
The Wiltshire Council Planning Committee mandate also included closure of the park when dark and ‘no later than 8pm’ which will also affect the opening times at different points in the year. We were hoping to be able to have the skatepark floodlit to increase the opening hours however this was not possible due to ecology considerations in the skatepark area. The skatepark is a ‘managed facility’ but an unsupervised park which all people use at their own risk.
Please contact The Climbing Academy directly for any questions relating to the climbing centre opening times, courses and information related to the running of The Arc, including courses and membership.