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Hadleigh Park's two pump tracks are closed from 12 October to early December while Essex County Council rebuilds them for bikes, scooters, skates and boards.
Both pump tracks at Hadleigh Country Park in Essex closed on Monday 12 October for a £225,000 upgrade funded by Essex County Council. The work is expected to finish at the beginning of December 2026, and the tracks are completely closed to the public until then.
The rest of the park stays open as usual, the park team says, including the mountain bike trails, the play areas and the café. Details of the trails are on our Hadleigh Park Mountain Bike Trail Centre listing.
What is changing
The council says both tracks will stay the same size, but their surfaces and layouts will be upgraded and modernised. Once they reopen they will suit scooters, skateboards and roller skates as well as bikes, for riders of all ages and abilities. Motorised vehicles will not be allowed.
The work is being designed and built by On Track, the Cardiff-based trail and bike park builder. Its design for the larger track, shown above, is a loop of linked straights and berms with a start area, roller sections and a progressive jump. The second drawing shows a smaller, low-profile loop for the other track.
"The upgraded pump tracks will be state of the art and modernised for future visitors of all ages to use and enjoy," said Councillor Russell Quirk, Deputy Leader of Essex County Council.
Welcome investment
It is welcome news for a venue we have been critical of. Hadleigh finished bottom of our Trail of the Year rankings in 2024 and again in 2025, with riders describing worn surfaces and Olympic features closed for years. Our coverage is in Hadleigh Park MTB: From Olympic Glory to Neglect and Hadleigh Park: riders again rank the Olympic legacy bottom of Trail of the Year. This announcement covers the two pump tracks only, not the Olympic course or the other trails.
Find out more
Explore Essex has the full announcement, and questions about the works can go to Explore.Essex@essex.gov.uk.
Designs: On Track, courtesy of Hadleigh Country Park. The photos around the larger track's plan show On Track features built elsewhere, not Hadleigh.