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The Buszy, built in 2005, is a
skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
in
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The skate area is covered almost entirely by the roof of the former Milton Keynes Central bus station. Its founders believe it to be the first purpose-built skatepark in the world. Pronounced "''Buzzy''" () by the locals, the bus station, including the plaza that sits underneath its roof, is grade two listed.


History


The early years

The Buszy has always been a focal point of the
skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboard ...
scene in
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
, even before it became a designated area to skateboard. Long before the area was designated a skateboard plaza, Chris Ince and his family owned and ran the One Stop Café inside the bus station. They sold skateboard products to the local skaters who skated the granite ledges and open flat ground areas around the station. The first skateboard competition was held at the Buszy in 1992, attended by between four and five hundred people. The Ince family, Chris, Jennifer, Steven and Damian built
Radlands Radlands may refer to: * ''Radlands'' (album), 2012 album by Mystery Jets * Radlands (game), 2021 board game by Daniel Piechnick * Radlands (skatepark), skatepark in Northampton, England {{dab ...
indoor
skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
that same year.


The SK8MK Project

Local skateboarder and
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
Lindsay Knight was instrumental in helping the local council understand the needs of the local skateboarders, making a video to help the
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
understand
street skateboarding Street skateboarding is a skateboarding discipline which focuses on flat-ground tricks, grinds, slides and aerials within urban environments, and public spaces. Street skateboarders meet, skate, and hang out in and around urban areas refe ...
. He countered the actions of the local police, who had supported the
criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
isation of
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
in
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...
.


The Elder Gate Crew

The Buszy is historically the home of the Elder Gate Crew (EGC), a group of locals who skated at the spot together regularly. With the stewardship and cinematography skills of member Carter Hewlett, they released two skate videos documenting skateboarding at the Buszy during the late 2000s, named "The Elder Gate Crew Video" and "Get to Know".


MK Skate

In May 2019, MK Skate, a project exploring the history of skateboarding in Milton Keynes, was founded, going on to secure £97,800 in National Lottery Heritage Funding. To celebrate Milton Keyne's contribution to skateboarding, MK Skate delivered a city centre trail, an exhibition shown between 27 September to 22 December 2019, and a book. A permanent record of Skateboarding in Milton Keynes has been stored in the city's archive and the Milton Keynes Museum.


Park layout


Competitions and demos

Since 1992, there have been many small events held at the Buszy by skateboarders in collaboration with local businesses and charities with both national and international professionals in attendance.


Notable events

There have been many jams, demos and competitions at the Buszy. The plaza has held demos and received visits from renowned professional skateboarding teams such as
Girl Skateboards Crailtap is a skateboarding distribution company based in Torrance, California, United States. The distribution company is home to Girl Skateboards, Chocolate Skateboards, Royal Skateboard Trucks, and Fourstar Clothing. Girl Skateboards Histor ...
, Flip, Zoo York, DC,
Element Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of o ...
,
Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...
and Matix Clothing.


Battle of The Buszy

On 2 June 2007,
Plan B Skateboards Plan B Skateboards is a skateboarding company based in San Diego California, United States, founded by Mike Ternasky, Danny Way and Colin McKay. PlanB has been manufacturing and selling premium skateboard hard goods and apparel since 1991 . Hi ...
sent a team of Skateboarders to the Buszy to take part in a special one-off event called "The Battle of The Buszy". The group included professional
skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...
Paul Rodriguez.


Go Skateboarding Day

Each year on 21 of June, there is a regular meeting of locals at the Buszy on
Go Skateboarding Day Go Skateboarding Day (GSD) is an event created by Don Brown, formerly IASC Marketing Director and co-created with Per Welinder who wanted a day for the global skate community to all ride together and elevate the energy of skateboarding around th ...
. The event is loosely organised, and there is occasionally a competition that may include a game of S.K.A.T.E.. Easy access to the Buszy by train makes Go Skateboarding Day popular for Skateboarders from around the rest of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to travel to the plaza and skate.


Hip Hop

The plaza contains a large collection of vivid and creative art works as the result of many highly respected national and local graffiti artists working at the Buszy, who painted the large, free, legal wall that is situated at the near side of the designated skate area. All of the four basic elements of
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
:
breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...
,
graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
, MC-ing, and DJing, have local history rooted to the spot. For example, members of the band
Hacktivist Hacktivism (or hactivism; a portmanteau of '' hack'' and ''activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. A form of Internet activism with roo ...
would come to the skate jams to perform before the group was formed, gaining worldwide fame. Dance crew would regularly be seen practising in front of the reflective windows of the bus station.


Charity


Make a Difference (MaD)

In 2005, the
Community interest company A community interest company (CIC, pronounced "see-eye-see", or colloquially, "kick") is a form of social enterprise in the United Kingdom intended "for people wishing to establish businesses which trade with a social purpose..., or to carry on ...
Make a Difference (abbreviated to MaD), was given control of the former bus station to turn the disused building into a multi-service youth hub, funded by allowing commuters to use its carpark at a daily charge. With a £500,000 investment from the SITA Trust and V, the national youth volunteering service, MaD spent the following ten years redeveloping the former bus station and delivered community youth services to the area. MaD was also instrumental in the majority of the skate jams and competitions that occurred between 2005 and 2015. Events were routinely overseen by Liam Snusher. On 19 January 2016, MaD's Buszy Twitter account announced the closure of the youth hub. The building owners, Milton Keynes Development Partnership, an agency of
Milton Keynes Council Milton Keynes City Council is the local authority for the City of Milton Keynes, a local government district in Buckinghamshire, England. The council was established in 1974 as Milton Keynes Borough Council. Since 1997 it has been a unitary au ...
, decided not to permit MaD further use of the building. The Council declined to intervene, stating that it did not have direct control of the Milton Keynes Development Partnership. The council now operates the carpark.


The Winter Night Shelter

Since MaD moved out of the building, The Winter Night Shelter has used the Buszy to provide shelter and assistance to the homeless population of Milton Keynes, which has grown significantly since sweeping local and national government cutbacks came into force.


Business

The owners of the building (Milton Keynes Development Partnership) currently let the old bus station's building to the following business tenants: *Romeo Dance Academy *New Money Recordings Romeo Dance Academy obtained a ten-year lease in May 2018.


Location

The Buszy is on Elder Gate, opposite
Milton Keynes Central railway station Milton Keynes Central railway station serves Milton Keynes and surrounding parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire (England). The station is located on the West Coast Main Line about northwest of London. The station is ser ...
. Almost all local and regional buses stop there, but
National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
coaches call only at the Coachway beside the M1. The site is also served by the
Milton Keynes redway system The Milton Keynes redway system (locally known as ''redways'') is an over network of shared use paths for cyclists and pedestrians in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is generally surfaced with red tarmac, and criss-crosses most of ...
, the city-wide network of shared paths for cyclists, pedestrians and skateboarders.


References


External links


MK Skate – The Story of Skateboarding in Milton Keynes
– Exhibition website
How Milton Keynes became UK's 'skate capital'
– BBC article
MK Skate – MK Skate Exhibition
– Community exhibition
Interviews about skateboarding in Milton Keynes
Twenty interviews about skateboarding with video clips attached.Living Archive, Milton Keynes {{DEFAULTSORT:Buszy Parks and open spaces in the Borough of Milton Keynes Skateparks in the United Kingdom