A NEWPORT skatepark wants to move to bigger premises but may have to crowdfund to survive in the meantime after a drop in custom due to the warmer weather. 

No Comply indoor skatepark opened in Friars Walk last September, and has seen more than 1,300 people visit the venue since it opened nine months ago.

Recently, due to the warmer weather the owner Alan Cains has seen a 50 per cent drop in business and is now considering crowdfunding to save the venue. 

Mr Cains said he was also faced with higher rent charges for the venue.

He would ideally like to expand the business by moving to a bigger location in Newport and add extra activities. 

He said: “Our skatepark looks to stay set until September, and if you don’t give yourself a deadline for stuff, you will never get it done."

He said that if the park did have to move, he only wanted to do it once, which meant finding bigger premises suitable for the long term, because taking the ramps down and rebuilding them was a big job. 

“It is just trying to find somewhere fit for purpose, we have room to grow, and we have over 1,300 members," he said.

“There is a real big market, and it is just a case of finding the right place."

He said he had visited some industrial estates in the city but been turned down. 

"When I mention the word skateboarding,  I get laughed at and they aren’t interested in what I have to offer.”

If a bigger location is found, he could add rock climbing and parkour facilities along with a cafe to help boost revenue. 

Until a new unit is found, a yearly membership fee of £20 for both youth and adults is being considered to help the business survive the summer.

He added: “It’s optional people don’t have to take a membership but if they do it will make using it cheaper.

“If 1,300 people opted to take a yearly £20 membership it would be £25,000 a year and enough to move and re-build the business and do more things to it."

Mr Cains said the skatepark was good for the city.

“A lot of people have said it is the only reason they come here, as it has made Newport a destination some of the members are from Newport and have never looked around Friars Walk until now.

“The new venue doesn’t have to be in the city centre, as we have an enormous skateboarding community in the city.”

Mr Cains told the Argus that crowdfunding would either go towards saving the current skatepark or it would be used towards a permanent long-term base.