Young people aged between 11 and 17 played an active role in advising architects and approving the designs for the facility in Beckenham Place Park, Downham, the largest green space in the south London borough. Steve Bullock, mayor of Lewisham, who opened the facility, said: "We talked to local residents about what kind of facility they would like in Beckenham Place Park and it was clear that a skatepark would be a valued resource. Children and young people were consulted at every stage of the project."