Bridport’s Trick Factory “loses a lot of money”

The Trick Factory, Bridport. Its future is once again up in the air.

Editor’s Introduction: The Trick Factory in Bridport is Dorset’s only indoor facility for skateboarders and BMXers.

It was threatened with demolition late 2009-early 2010, as part of multi-million pound plans to redevelop Bridport’s South West Quadrant drawn up by landowners Haywards and West Dorset District Council.

The Trick Factory was spared following a vigorous campaign, and following the rejection of those joint plans.

New SW Quadrant proposals - previewed by Haywards (now acting alone) just before Christmas 2010 – still suggest demolishing the Stover Building that’s currently used by The Trick Factory – but crucially, this time round, they also suggest providing a new purpose-built arena. (“The Trick Factory is recognised to be a well-used and valuable facility,” said Haywards’ display)

However, the open letter just sent out on Facebook by The Trick Factory’s boss Robert Ridge does raise the question of whether the indoor park has had its day, if, as he says, it lost around £3,000 in 2010 and is now used by fewer than 10 local people.

Rob’s letter is below. Please read on…

Money lost – around £3,000

THIS OPEN LETTER is intended to share a predicament, suggest a course of action and incite some feedback.

Put bluntly, The Trick Factory in 2010 has lost a lot of money, more than any previous year.

I don’t know the exact figure but it’s around 3K.

The reason for this is lack of support.

Either from would be sponsors, contributors or simply people attending the facility, either to use and/or help at the premises.

Paradoxically the number of local users in recent times doesn’t even amount to double figures, much to the dismay of myself and the disbelief of those that travel to use The Trick Factory.

For many years I have joked that my accounting skills amount to the general realisation that running The Trick Factory doesn’t allow me to drive around in a Ferrari but it didn’t prevent me from going hungry either so things trundled along.

Another paradoxical affair is the positive aspect (in one way) of the increased number of outdoor facilities that have sprung up across the land in recent years.

Few users

It’s good on the one hand they now exist but in the summer months The Trick Factory now gets very few attending users.

It’s a horrible sinking feeling knowing the monthly overheads amount to around £875 and halfway through a summer month the takings amount to less than £200.

Of course some off-setting can be factored into the mix, in so much as more money is taken in the winter months, but it no longer gets close to breaking even.

I am suggesting and intending to reduce the amount of the area we pay rent for in the building and this will happen at the end of March or April 2011.

The provisional plan is to lower the bowl to floor level, where it will be reduced from 5ft deep/high to 4ft. The foot print of the bowl will be floored over with transitions/flatbanks going against what is presently the bowl vert wall and the same or similar on an opposite wall that will be put up roughly where the spine/volcano sit. This set up would still allow up to 3 people to ride/skate simultaneously. It would also be interesting to see a fresh configuration in the building and to use a smaller space as effectively as can be.