Following £49,644 joint funding from Derby City Council and British Cycling, Osmaston Park BMX cycle track will be completed and ready to roll from the end of October.

The new track will be an inspiration to beginners and a challenge to the more advanced riders, offering a wide range of riding options, through a variety of berms, rollers and jumps that can be ridden by riders of all ages and abilities. The tarmac and stone track will split at half-way providing advanced riders varying jump heights of differing levels of difficultly.

British Cycling has awarded project funding from its Places To Ride capital grants programme, with a further 50% match funding coming from Derby City Council’s Housing Revenue Account Estates Pride Budget, which is managed by Derby Homes.     

The project was seen through to fruition by a number of stakeholders including Derby Homes, Move More team, Derby Parks as well as Ozzy Wheels. Jay Plimmer, who heads up Ozzy Wheels, said:

 What we want to see is the track being used by beginners and more experienced riders.

There will be an opening event on Saturday 30 October from 11am to 3pm, with a Halloween theme. The programme will include bike sessions led by the JB Extreme Landscaping Team, who are constructing the site, with support from Ozzy Wheels Team.  There will be stalls and activities from Derby Homes, Derby City Council’s Parks Team, Steps and a range of other organisations offering craft activities and bike maintenance. 

All the community is invited to join in, from beginners to experienced riders. Feel the thrill of the new BMX track, try out few stunts, improve your landing, perform a double-peg or just come along and show us your skills! As part of the bike sessions, there will be a number of prizes donated by one of the world’s biggest BMX store Source BMX.

Steven Johnson, Cycling Delivery Manager, East Midlands for British Cycling said:

Derby City Council and Derby Homes are doing some great work to get more people cycling across Derby, so we are pleased to support their efforts to bring the community of Osmaston and the city of Derby together and been able to support Osmaston Park BMX cycle track through Places to Ride. Locally we look forward to seeing more people from a range of backgrounds, regardless of age, gender, ability or ethnicity getting involved with cycling.

Mike Ainsley the Chair of Derby Homes said:

The passion and determination of a group of local young people inspired Derby Homes to commit funding to help make their vision become a reality. We are so proud to be involved in this project and hope that it inspires other young people to aim high in life and on the track.

Councillor Jerry Pearce, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Parks, said:

This new track facility in Osmaston Park, is the result of some hard work by the track users and different areas of the council. The track will not only be an asset to the area, but it will also be a legacy to the amazing BMX Olympians, seen at Tokyo 2020, inspiring young people to live their dream. Osmaston Park, is situated to the side of the new Moorways Sports Village scheduled to be completed in 2022. Together the BMX track and the pool, will ensure Derby has the chance to inspire future Olympian stars from the city of Derby.

For more information on the event, visit Derby Parks Facebook and join the event.

For more information about Ozzy Wheels and the club’s involvement in the project, join the Ozzy Wheels Facebook Group.