A disused department store awaiting demolition in Bristol city centre is set to be transformed temporarily into a vibrant new skate park in a deal secured by lawyers at Thrings.
The project to rejuvenate the former Debenhams building on The Horsefair is being led by Bristol-based not-for-profit Campus Skateboarding. 
Having worked closely with the team in Thrings’ Bristol office to secure a short-term lease for the space ahead of its redevelopment, Campus has now been granted licensing and permissions for the new venue and it set to open next month.
The Bristol-based firm has been dedicated to raising expectations of indoor skateparks for more than a decade. It has created two innovative and inclusive spaces – Campus Pool in Bishopsworth, South Bristol, and Campus Park in Winterbourne, north of the city – which bring the skating community together.
It is now transforming the lower ground floor of the former Debenhams building, which closed in May 2021, into a one-of-a-kind urban attraction.
Campus aims to make the most of the space’s size and the smoothness of the floor, mimicking some of the obstacles that skaters love to encounter in the street and making it more of “a skate plaza than skatepark”, the firm said.
It also hopes to host other alternative sports and activities in the building, such as bike polo and a roller derby while making it suitable for both competitive and casual users. 
It will also include a bar managed and led by the team that re-opened former Tap & Barrel pub on Dean Lane, Bedminster, just over a year ago as skater-friendly The Dame.
Head of Thrings’ Bristol commercial property team Robert Barnes and solicitor Annabel Rowland, pictured flanking Campus director Tim Nokes, acted for Campus, providing legal support, including negotiating and settling the terms of their occupation.
Campus Skateboarding director Tim Nokes said: “Breathing new life into this historic site that many Bristolians will know well is a very exciting prospect as we look to create an amazing new venue that caters to a wide range interests while fostering a sense of inclusivity and creativity.
“We are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to share the experience with everyone very soon!
“We are truly grateful to Thrings for their involvement in this project and want to thank them for the work they have put in behind the scenes to get this over the line.”
Robert Barnes added: “Bristol is an amazingly diverse city with venues like this very much a cornerstone of that culture.
“We are delighted to have been able to support Tim and the Campus team in bringing this vision to fruition and look forward to seeing it become an immediate success when it opens.”
Bristol property agents Hartnell Taylor Cook director James Woodward, who represented the building’s landlord, said: “When we were asked to try and come up with a temporary use for a closed department store the options for standard retailers were limited, so we needed to think outside the box.
“The rise of leisure in city centres got us thinking about how we could use the big open space and we quickly landed on a skate park concept.
“We thought it might be a difficult sell, but Campus have such a strong reputation for their brilliant skate facilities, and the temporary parks that they set up at festivals, schools and other central locations that the idea quickly gained traction.”
The building is earmarked to be demolished in the near future to make way for a small group of buildings, the tallest at 28 storeys, containing just over 500 flats.
