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The Buszy

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Coordinates: 52°02′03″N 0°46′13″W / 52.034242°N 0.770345°W / 52.034242; -0.770345
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Built in 2005, "The Buszy" is a fully lit skatepark plaza which is free to skate and open 24hrs a day, 365 days a year in Milton Keynes, England. The skate area is covered almost entirely by the roof of the Old Milton Keynes Central Bus Station.

History

The Early years

The Buszy has always been an important meeting place and focal point of the Skateboard scene in Milton Keynes.[1][2] Even before it became a designated area to skateboard.[3]

Long before the area was designated a skateboard plaza, Chris Ince and his family owned and ran the One Stop Café; inside the Bus Station and would sell skateboard products to the local skaters who would come from far and wide to skate the well known marble ledges and open flat ground areas around the station.[4] The first skateboard competition was held at the Buszy in 1992. Between four or five hundred people attended. The Ince family, Chris, Jennifer, Steven and Damian built Radlands indoor skatepark that same year.[5]

The SK8MK Project

In 2002, the SK8MK project started with the aim of tackling tensions surrounding skateboarding and the need for an area in the city that was dedicated to skating. Proposals from the skate community led to the Central Bus Station being earmarked. No longer used, it had long since been a popular spot for skaters thanks to the concrete infrastructure and open spaces. It was agreed that 'The Buszy' - as it became known - needed to reflect the popular skate spots of the city. Local skateboarder Rob Selley and designer Richard Ferrington led the project, and when finished in 2005, The Buszy became the first purpose-built skateboard plaza in the world.

— mkskate.org (Ryan Gray, Jen Kavanagh, Caterina Loriggio and Ben Powell)[6]

Local Skateboarder and cinematographer Lindsay Knight was instrumental in helping the local council understand the needs of the local skateboarders, as he made a video to help the Chamber of Commerce understand what street Skateboarding is. This action proved vitally important due to the fact that the local Police had positioned themselves as wanting to criminalise skateboarding in Milton Keynes.[7]

The Elder Gate Crew

The Buszy is historically the home of the Elder Gate Crew (EGC), a group of locals who skated at the spot together regularly and with the stewardship and cinematography skills of member Carter Hewlett, released two skate videos. "The Elder Gate Crew Video" and "Get to know" documenting skateboarding at the Buszy during the late 2000s.[8][9][10][11]

The name the "Elder Gate Crew" came about because the road the Bus Station sits along is named Elder Gate.[12]

Competitions and demos

There have been many jams, demos and competitions at the Buszy. The plaza has held demos and received visits from renowned Professional Skateboarding teams such as Girl Skateboards, Flip, Zoo York, DC, Element, Blueprint and Matix Clothing.[13][14][15]

Notable events

Battle of The Buszy

In 2007, Plan B Skateboards sent a team of Skateboarders to the Buszy to take part in a special one off event called "The Battle of The Buszy".[16][17][18]

Park Layout

The layout of the Buszy

References

  1. ^ "Interview with Wig Worland". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Interview with Nathan Lindsell". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Interview with Leo Sharp". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Interview with Steven Ince and Damian Ince". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview with Chris Ince and Jennifer Ince". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  6. ^ "MK Skate History". mkskate.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  7. ^ "Interview with Lindsay Knight". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Interview with Josh Lock". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Interview with Carter Hewlett". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  10. ^ "EGC video - Cart's Youtube channel". Carter Hewlett via youtube(alphabet). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Interview with John Aldridge". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Map to the Buszy". Google(alphabet). Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  13. ^ "MK Skate History". mkskate.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  14. ^ "Interview with Dean John Edwards". livingarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  15. ^ "MK BUSZY JAM 2009". Andy King (Arkology) via youtube(alphabet). Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  16. ^ "MK Skate History". mkskate.org. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  17. ^ "Battle of the Buszy 2007". Andy King (Arkology) via youtube(alphabet). Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  18. ^ "Plan B Battle of the Buszy". caughtinthecrossfire.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.

52°02′03″N 0°46′13″W / 52.034242°N 0.770345°W / 52.034242; -0.770345


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