Shamblewood Bike Park: Fight launched to save DIY bike park in Hedge End after council orders it be torn down

The owner of a bike trials park created for young riders has been ordered to rip it all down by a borough council.

Shaun Goddard is fighting to keep his off-road track and obstacle course Shamblewood Bike Park, on Shamblehurst Lane North, near Hedge End, which he spent three years creating.

The 37-year-old senior design engineer has been served with an enforcement notice by Eastleigh Borough Council ordering him to stop using the site as a bike park and to remove all jumps, ramps, tyres and an office from the land by the end of October.

Shaun, who spent £12,000 on building the park, said: “One of the young girls was in tears when I told her. All of the kids are going to be devastated if we close. This is why we don’t have anything like this already – because it is too difficult.”

At least eight children use the park every week, with this rising to around 30 for group events and competitions.

Posting on Facebook, he added: “To say we’re not happy would be an understatement. After years of dedication, building this from the ground up, we feel that having it taken away so quickly would be a huge knock to the riding community.”

Shaun, from Fair Oak, said his partner’s family had long owned the land and agreed he could use it if he kept it managed and secure.

He finished shaping the park at the start of this year, but never applied for planning permission, admitting he was “a bit naive”.

He said the authority first contacted him last August about the site, and he sent them his plans without putting in an application as he could not afford the fee at the time.

Shaun said: “I did not hear from them until July 28 this year, when they sent me the enforcement notice. I thought it was going to satisfy them, me sending them the documents.”

A longtime mountain biker who gave up the sport because of injury, Shaun said the park was his way of “giving back” and getting youngsters off the streets and into a safe, supervised setting.

He offers ad‑hoc lessons for £5 a head, which goes towards upkeep, and said the track has already produced youngsters who have gone on to compete – with some riders travelling from as far as Cambridge and Scotland.

Now he is preparing a retrospective planning application and appealing against the notice, insisting planning permission should be granted.

Since posting about the notice on social media, Shaun says an ecologist and an architect have come forward to help with the application for free, while supporters have donated around £500 and are planning fundraisers.

A council spokesperson said it was first made aware the park was being built in April 2025 and had advised that planning permission was required, but no application was submitted. They added that each planning application is assessed on its merits and any appeal will be considered by the Planning Inspectorate.