Selwyn District Council in New Zealand is giving kids dirt in the park to build their own bike jumps, the kind of digging UK councils usually clear away.

Selwyn District Council, near Christchurch in New Zealand, noticed that kids were digging up dirt in local parks to build bike jumps, and damaging the planting as they went. Rather than flatten the jumps, the council's Parks and Reserves team gave them something to dig.

During the school holidays the council delivered dirt to parks in Leeston, Lincoln and Tai Tapu so local riders could build their own jumps. In the council's words, "it's been a hit".

Clay this time, and a fourth park

More dirt is being delivered this week, and this time it is clay, which the council says is better for shaping jumps. A fourth site has been added at Foster Park in Rolleston. Selwyn councillor Sophie McInnes announced it on Facebook with "Bring a bike and a shovel, get stuck in", pointing to the "gravel pit/loose dirt combo" there.

The rules on the sign

The sites carry council signs headed "Self-Build Bike Jumps", each with a plain warning: "Ride within your limits and progress at your own risk." Under "Keep it open, follow the basics" they set three rules:

• Build better, not bigger. Use the soil that is there. Do not dig up the ground or add timber, logs, rocks or other materials.
• Things may change. Jumps might be reshaped or removed if they get too high, unsafe or hard for others to ride.
• Pack it in, pack it out. Take your rubbish home and leave the spot tidy for the next crew.

It is a pilot, looking at how the council can help young people enjoy its parks and stay active while protecting the areas around them. Signs at the sites carry a QR code so riders and parents can send feedback and ideas. More on the council's news page.

Could it work in the UK?

Plenty of UK councils back bike jumps. Many have paid for pump tracks, which is why so many parks now have one. What Selwyn adds is different: the riders build and reshape the jumps themselves. In the UK, that kind of jump is the one that usually gets pulled down.

In March, Twyford Parish Council in Berkshire called a small ramp dug by young riders at its recreation ground criminal damage and reported it to the anti-social behaviour team, road.cc reported. In August, young riders stood on the landings at Hodgemoor Woods to stop the diggers, and Babergh District Council removed ramps built across paths at Kone Vale in Suffolk, though it has since said it will look for a more suitable place to ride.

Councils that remove jumps usually give safety and liability as the reason. Selwyn's answer is on the sign: riders take responsibility for their own riding, and the council keeps the right to cut back anything that gets too big.

In the UK, the tried route is a formal one: riders in Tavistock, Devon, whose jumps were torn down, asked the council where they could build instead, got a youth café to take on the lease and insurance, and ended up with an official dirt park, as BikeRadar's guide to building jumps legally sets out.

Why it matters

Free places for young people to go have been disappearing. Council spending on youth services in England fell by 73% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2023-24, a cut of £1.2bn, and 643 youth centres closed in a decade, according to YMCA England and Wales's Beyond the Brink? report (January 2025).

At the same time, more free time goes online. Ofcom found that 8 to 14-year-olds spend an average of 2 hours 59 minutes a day online (June 2025). Sport England's Active Lives survey for 2024-25 found that 49.1% of children and young people in England get the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day, and that active children report being happier and more likely to keep trying when something is hard.

A pile of dirt in the park is free, outdoors, needs no booking and no adult to run it. The digging is part of the point. A University of Melbourne study by David Camilleri found that building jumps together helps teenagers make friends, teaches them leadership and problem-solving, and is about "young people wanting to create a space for themselves". It also found that demolishing jumps can erode their trust in institutions, as ABC News reported in January.

If your local jumps are under threat, or your council is trying something like Selwyn, let us know.

Photos: Selwyn District Council.

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