Skaters slide into despair

The skate ramps in Monkton Park, Chippenham, were closed suddenly last month when a local government ombudsman found the council guilty of maladministration over the siting of the skate park.

At the meeting on Thursday many young people registered to ask questions during public question time, and parents also expressed concerns on behalf of their children.

But they left disappointed, as councillors found it impossible to come up with an immediate answer to their questions about what they were going to do without a skatepark during the six-week school summer holidays.

Many youngsters asked if the skatepark could be temporarily re-opened for the holidays until a more permanent solution could be found.

The only decision councillors did make was to hold another meeting, inviting the police and traders, due to be held last night.

They hope to come up with a temporary solution for the summer holidays, which start next week, and to talk more about the long-term future for Chippenham's many young skaters.

Among those who attended the meeting was 15-year-old David Witt. He said: "It didn't really get us very far. I thought something was going to happen at this meeting."

David Ayres, 14, said: "I was hoping they'd agree to relocate the skatepark for the summer at least, but I don't think it's going to happen.

"We'll all end up skating in the High Street and we'll just get chucked out."

Jamie Taylor, 15, said: "I do think the council are taking us seriously but they're favouring the residents. It only affected about four of them but this has affected about 200 children."

The skatepark was closed after two unnamed Monkton Park residents one representing the Friends of Monkton Park complained to the local government ombudsman about the way the district council handled the siting of the park and concerns over noise nuisance when it was in use. The ombudsman upheld their complaints, was highly critical of the council, and ordered it to pay compensation to residents.

Several Monkton Park residents attended Thursday's meeting.

One of them, Richard Taylor, said: "I just want to say to the skateboard children not to think the residents of Monkton Park don't want children.

"Please don't think we are saying we don't want the children to have a skatepark."

Turning to David Packham, the leader of the council, he said: "Thank you for sincerely apologising. We appreciate it."

But another resident, Pat Bishop, did not take kindly to the comments of one parent, who stood up and said he couldn't understand why the residents were being compensated for a loss of amenity. "The people who have lost something are these youngsters here tonight," he said.

"They were given something they were looking forward to and now, because of people who will remain nameless, it has been taken away.

"How can they balance their loss of amenities with what all these kids have lost now?"

Mrs Bishop replied: "Have you ever gone to sit in your garden to read a piece of fiction and enjoy the peace and quiet?

"It is like your neighbour is banging their dustbin lid with a hammer."

Coun Philip Allnatt said the council should be looking forwards, not backwards.

"The skateboard park is not going to re-open on its present site but we need to look for an alternative," he said, adding that the Island Park had been considered some years ago.

Coun Ruth Coleman, who was due to chair last night's meeting, hit out at the ombudsman's criticism.

"I used to think the ombudsman was a rather good idea, but having read the report the lack of rigour and examination is astonishing," she said.

"I still find it frankly unbelievable that they made their decisions without speaking to any of the executive members who made this key decision or the users.

"This was some unaccountable bureaucrat who has messed up everybody's summer. I hope it rains wherever he goes on holiday."

Skaters pose a security problem

Bored skateboarders in Chippenham are already causing problems for North Wiltshire District Council, shoppers and the police.

Since the town's skatepark closed, youngsters have taken their skateboards to the town centre, shopping centre service areas and housing estates.

The district council has been obliged to take on security staff for a couple of hours each day to make sure youngsters do not climb the fence into the skatepark.

Every afternoon a security guard from from the company K-9 is employed to patrol the area at a cost to the council of £284 a week.

Teenagers did climb in to the skatepark at lunchtime on Tuesday and police were called out to remove them.

David Lemon, who works in Cocklebury Road, said he spotted half a dozen youngsters in the park at 1.45pm, and they were still there when he returned at 2.15pm.

"I have to say I was very pleased to see them," he said. "I couldn't hear any noise. When the park's open they are not misbehaving."

Police were also called on Monday because youngsters were skateboarding on the Neeld Hall steps .

Nigel Wright, a security guard at Borough Parade said a noticeably larger number of youngsters were skateboarding around the shopping centre and in the service areas behind it.

"We have to move them on for the safety of the public," he said.

"The skatepark should be re-opened It should be opened during the summer holidays."

PC Heather Barham of Chippenham Police said skaters had been reported skating down hills on the Cepen Park North estate.

She said they had received more complaints about skaters since the skatepark closed.

"We would like this situation resolved," she said. "The skatepark was very popular."

Town takes note of park pitfalls

In Calne youngsters have been much luckier than skateboarders in neighbouring towns.

The fiasco over Chippenham's skatepark has not put Calne councillors off building one and proposals are already on the table to provide a new skatepark near the recreation ground in Anchor Road.

The council has been working with young skateboarders and in-line skaters for the past few years to replace and relocate the existing skating facility at Station Road, known locally as The Bowl.

But the council wants to make sure it is the town to get it right, by covering all the angles before anything is built and says the public will be consulted every step of the way.

Residents are invited to an open meeting tonight to discuss the proposals.

The meeting will take place at Calne Town Hall at 7pm.

A representative from a concrete skatepark manufacturer and the noise consultant, commissioned by the town council to produce a report on the possible noise levels from the proposed skatepark, will be there, as well as members of the town council.

Town council clerk Ann Kingdon said: "It will be an opportunity for people to ask questions. The users will be there, as well as specialists in the field.

"This is the first stage of the public consultation.

"We have been talking to skateboarders for two years but had to put things on hold because of the problems in Chippenham and court case in Devizes, but we are ready to go ahead now.

"It is very early stages but we are making sure people have a chance to have all their questions answered before we go ahead with the details."

The town's community development manager, Mark Wilkins, said: "The public meeting is being held as part of an intensive consultation exercise.

"With the complications surrounding Chippenham and Devizes' skateparks, the town council are eager to ensure all planning and consultation requirements are fully addressed prior to any construction.

"Local residents, police, skateboarders and other parties have been invited to attend the meeting and will have the opportunity to give their views on the proposals.

"It is open to the public and anyone wishing to attend will be welcomed."

For further information contact Mr Wilkins or Mrs Kingdon on (01249) 814000.

The town council has estimated that the skate park will cost in the £120,000.

Both Calne Town Council and North Wiltshire District Council have put forward £20,000 each.

The town council intends to apply to the Sports Lottery Fund and call on local businesses to help with funding the project.

Although it is early stages skateboarder John Edwards, 15, who lives in the town said everyone was optimistic that Calne would succeed with the project where others had failed.

He said he and many of his friends were quite overwhelmed by the positive work being done.

"It is nice to see that are doing something for us. It has taken ages, we've been waiting three or four years for a new skate park," he said.

The Anchor Road site will also include an extra men's basketball court and a mini-basketball court.

After the skate park is finished the town council is keen to provide six-a-side football pitches.

John said: "The skate park helps keep young people off the streets. If we didn't have the skate park I don't know what I would do. Everyone in my age group wants it."

He said people had been keeping a close eye on what was happening in both Chippenham and Devizes and were very keen to see Calne succeed.

"People have seen what has gone on. I just hope they don't close our one down," he said.

Cash hunt begins

the search is on for funding for a planned £200,000 indoor skateboard park in Devizes.

A working group set up by the town council, which includes representatives of councils, youth and community workers and skateboarders, met last week to look at the possible funding options for the skate ramps in a glass-roofed extension to be built at the front of the Southbroom Youth Centre.

Youth and community worker Margaret Lamb said many large national companies had charitable funds prepared to give grants to such projects.

Devizes Town Council was forced in March to remove new skate ramps put up in Hillworth Park after resident Bill Richardson won a county court case over nuisance caused by noise.

Since then the town council has been searching for a new site and was considering using part of the Tom Doyle Playing Fields at Green Lane.

A large part of the cost of an extension to the youth centre would be a new retaining wall against the grass bank.

The pilot group for the project will have its first meeting on July 31 chaired by Andrew Smith, Kennet's leisure services director.