A NEW parkour park has opened in Salisbury and is the first in Wiltshire.

Salisbury City Council in partnership with Wiltshire Council has been working on a project to develop the parkour park in Churchill Gardens after receiving grant funding from Sport England – Community Asset Fund, the Landfill Community Trust, Salisbury City Council and Wiltshire Council’s Salisbury Area Board.

Th official opening ceremony for the £50,000 parkour park was held on Saturday.

Deputy mayor of Salisbury Caroline Corbin said: “This is a fantastic addition to our city. Along with the skate park, the green gym equipment and the weekly ParkRun it means that Churchill Gardens is becoming a well-used outdoor venue which provides a host of opportunities to be physically active and which I am sure will benefit the local community long in to the future.”

The opening got off to a flying start with a demonstration led by head coach at Kiwi Parkour, Kieran Coombes, who added: “We were delighted to be here today to really showcase this amazing new facility. The Salisbury parkour community has been extremely excited for this park. We encourage people of all ages to come along and give it a go. Parkour is for everyone, whether they are young in body or in mind."

After the official ribbon cutting, members of the public were able to give it a try in a workshop.

Councillor Jerry Kunkler, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure said: “I have been delighted to help open this new facility today. Parkour has many health benefits and has proven to appeal to young people who may not be interested in traditional sports, so it is hoped this facility will provide an opportunity to increase sports participation not only in the city but also across Wiltshire as it is the first parkour facility in the county.”

An Introduction to parkour course will be running for five weeks from November 1. Those interested in taking part can contact the Wiltshire Council Sports Development team by emailing sportsdevelopment@wiltshire.gov.uk