Skate park bid gets back on track (From thisisoxfordshire)
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Skate park bid gets back on track
7:00pm Wednesday 14th December 2011 in News By Rhianne Pope
Mon Barbour, front, and BMX rider Lewis Whitehouse at the temporary skate ramps at Meadow Lane
A 23-YEAR campaign for a permanent skate park in Oxford looks set to move ahead at last.
One of the last obstacles to the East Oxford park has been lifted after the Environment Agency dropped its objections over flooding risks.
And Oxford City Council has included the park on its “upcoming applications” list, so it could be given the go-ahead early in the new year.
But the skaters behind the £300,000 plan for a site in Meadow Lane said the delays had cost them thousands of pounds and more money would need to be raised before the park becomes a reality.
The Oxford Wheels Project submitted plans for a set of concrete ramps in May, after years of problems over planning issues, leases and fundraising. But due to the Environment Agency’s concerns about possible flooding around the site, the council delayed a decision on the planning application.
Project committee member Mon Barber said: “We’ve put in the planning application in May and still after all this time, we have nothing.
“I have spent 23 years trying to get a skate park in Oxford but we still don’t have it.
“All this waiting has lost us thousands in grants that have expired. We’re not sure we’ve still got our Lottery funding.
“Not to mention the £8,000 it has taken in noise samples, soil samples, tackling tree and flooding issues, just to get it to this stage.”
Skaters currently use temporary wooden ramps on the site that were built in 2001 to last just three years, with the expectation permanent facilities would soon follow.
Mr Barber, who runs the SS20 skate shop, in Cowley Road, said: “This is something the council should have built in the first place, so it’s a joke that we’ve had to jump through all these hoops.”
“Even if we do get planning permission now, we still have so much money to raise.
“So to ask how long it’ll be before it’s built is like asking how long a piece of string is.
“And I just don’t know if the enthusiasm is still there. The process is just taking so long.”
In October, Wheels Project chairman Jack Richens told the Oxford Mail: “Oxford has got a great heritage. Some of the best skaters in the world come from Oxford, which is crazy, because they’ve never had anything to skate on.
“Imagine how well they’ll do when we actually give them something to skate on.”
City council spokesman Louisa Dean said: “The Meadow Lane skate park planning application will be going to committee in January for determination.
“There had been some minor delay regarding the environmental impact at the site, however, a flood risk assessment has now been carried out.”
Comments(8)
Tom Cranmer
says...
9:15pm Wed 14 Dec 11
BMX riding is now an Olympic sport and skateboarding is also being seriously considered, so there could be further funding opportunities. Police forces are very supportive of them as there has been proven reductions in anti social behaviour. I believe it is better to invest in long term infrastructure to help support our youth rather than wait for them to fall foul of the law at a greater cost to the tax payer.
Interceptor80
says...
10:19pm Wed 14 Dec 11
Dilligaf2010 wrote:And far be it from you protecting the public purse dilligaf. And threatening litigation? How out of character!
But the skaters behind the £300,000 plan for a site in Meadow Lane said the delays had cost them thousands of pounds and more money would need to be raised before the park becomes a reality........And?
How many other people's hobbies get funded by the Council etc.?
Utter waste of money, how long will it be before somebody injures themselves falling onto the concrete, then decides to sue the Council, because the Council never told them that wearing trousers halfway down their arse, and riding bikes to small for them, on concrete could result in injury?
Dilligaf2010
says...
10:40pm Wed 14 Dec 11
Interceptor80 wrote:Who's threatening litigation?
Dilligaf2010 wrote:And far be it from you protecting the public purse dilligaf. And threatening litigation? How out of character!
But the skaters behind the £300,000 plan for a site in Meadow Lane said the delays had cost them thousands of pounds and more money would need to be raised before the park becomes a reality........And?
How many other people's hobbies get funded by the Council etc.?
Utter waste of money, how long will it be before somebody injures themselves falling onto the concrete, then decides to sue the Council, because the Council never told them that wearing trousers halfway down their arse, and riding bikes to small for them, on concrete could result in injury?
And as for your other comments, I haven't got a clue what you're on about, I doubt whether you have either
Dilligaf2010
says...
10:43pm Wed 14 Dec 11
Tom Cranmer wrote:Spending money on educating them would be far more worthwhile
Plenty of other peoples hobbies get funded by the council and central government (although I hope the lottery grant is still valid). And as for concerns about litigation; skaters and BMXers are pretty used to injuries - would a footballer playing at Court Farm seek compensation for a groin injury?
BMX riding is now an Olympic sport and skateboarding is also being seriously considered, so there could be further funding opportunities. Police forces are very supportive of them as there has been proven reductions in anti social behaviour. I believe it is better to invest in long term infrastructure to help support our youth rather than wait for them to fall foul of the law at a greater cost to the tax payer.
mandate
says...
3:03am Thu 15 Dec 11
Why this project has taken so long is absolutely beyond belief. My son and his friends really enjoy skateboarding. The positive thing is that none of them are hanging about on the streets looking for trouble, as skating takes up a lot of their time.
It's a well known fact that kids who have somewhere to go to practice their hobbies and sports are less likely to be troublemakers.
Lewis W
says...
1:32pm Thu 15 Dec 11
Also, do I wear my trousers "half way down my arse"? No. I don't. Thats a very malicious comment and not related to the subject at all.
I'm very well educated and I resent the stereotyping that skaters/BMXriders are troublemakers.
The council supports most general sports, Taking a guess there is probably multiple football pitches within a 1-mile radius anywhere you go in Oxford.
As a BMX rider, we have no where to practice our sport.
I ride my bike because it makes me feel good about myself, its great fun, and an amazing way to meet new people and stay fit.
I do not ride my bike to be a trouble maker.
This skatepark would be so beneficial to the development of the extreme sports community and to all of the local riders and skaters.
The fact that it has taken this long to get anywhere is simply ridiculous.
TobyMac
says...
6:29pm Thu 15 Dec 11
Oh and to your comment on putting the money into education, I would almost go as far to say as that would be a waste of money. Put it into small businesses so they can take on apprentices and generate more money for the council and government to put back into projects like this.
Dilligaf2010 says...
7:54pm Wed 14 Dec 11
How many other people's hobbies get funded by the Council etc.?
Utter waste of money, how long will it be before somebody injures themselves falling onto the concrete, then decides to sue the Council, because the Council never told them that wearing trousers halfway down their arse, and riding bikes to small for them, on concrete could result in injury?