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Dorchester Bike Park has a final plan for a tarmac pump track and dirt jumps at Castle Park, and wants riders behind it before a council meeting on 30 November.
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The Dorchester Bike Park Community Project has published its final plan for a wheeled sports park at Castle Park in Dorchester, and wants riders to back it before a Dorchester Town Council meeting on 30 November. The first thing to do is sign the petition.
The site is the old BMX dirt track at the top of the Castle Park play area. The group says the track has fallen into disrepair and is now only suitable for the most basic use.
What is planned
The plan, dated 8 September 2026 and shared by project lead Jonathan Halsall on 16 September, has three parts:
- A tarmac pump track of about 180 metres, for everyone from balance bikes and scooters to skateboards, BMX, mountain bikes and adaptive equipment.
- Two progressive dirt jump lines of 70 to 75 metres.
- A skills line of about 100 metres, with rollers, small jumps, drop-ins and rock features.
For a sense of scale, the group points to the jump lines at Beach Park Pump Track and Jumps near Basingstoke, which are the length it hopes to build, and the pump track at Cadishead All-Wheeled Sports Facility in Salford, which is a similar size.
The jump and skills lines run down from a start platform at the north end of the field, with the pump track alongside them, next to the council's eco dump, and a half-size five-a-side pitch below. The group says the nearest tarmac pump track to Dorchester is currently about 45 minutes' drive away.
How it got here
The project began as the Castle Park BMX Trail Rejuvenation Project, a group of local parents and BMX and mountain bike riders. Its first proposal went to the town council in February 2022, and a revised one in October 2022 planned two dirt pump tracks, including a smaller one for children aged 4 to 8. In November 2022 the council's Management Committee resolved to support a BMX trail at Castle Park and to consider funding help from its play area reserve, if needed. The petition opened in July 2023 and has since passed 1,600 verified signatures.
The project's concept artwork lists British Cycling, Dorchester Transport Action Group, Mud Sweat n Gears, Lyons Landscapes and SVEN as supporters. No funding package or planning application has been announced yet.
What happens next
The group hopes to get the project on the agenda for the Dorchester Town Council meeting on 30 November, and says that without community backing it will not happen. It is asking supporters to:
- Sign the petition.
- Share the project.
- Send the group a comment on why you want the park, with your age, as the park is aimed at young people.
- Fill in a survey, which the group says is coming soon.
- Go to the town council meeting on 30 November to show support.
The group posts updates on its Dorchester Bike Park Facebook page and Instagram account.
Sign the Dorchester Bike Park petition
Concept images and site plans courtesy of the Dorchester Bike Park Community Project. The images are illustrations of the proposal, not photos of the site.