Long-awaited skate park in Northampton delayed due to nearby redevelopment
Kevin Charles, chairman of Northampton Skate Park Group, next to Midsummer Meadow, the council has withdrawn the plans for a skate park there. Pictured: Kevin Charles, centre, with skaters Nick Miley, David Johns, Louis Charles and Ashley Seckington.
THE development of a world-class skate park in Northampton will be delayed by two months after new plans for the scheme were revealed.
A group of skateboarders and BMX riders from across Northampton have been working for a number of years on plans to build a skate park at Midsummer Meadow, off Bedford Road, near the town centre.
The plans were due to be approved by Northampton Borough Council’s planning committee next month.
But this week, Guildhall officials revealed new plans had now been drawn up which would see the park moved 164ft further along Bedford Road.
The council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Tim Hadland (Con, Old Duston) explained the move was needed because the section of land where the skate park was due to be built may be needed for road improvements as part of the redevelopment of nearby Nunn Mills power station site.
He said: “When the plans were submitted earlier in the year, the impact of the road improvements necessary to serve the developing Nunn Mills site was not fully appreciated.
“This is an area where regeneration is coming forward rapidly and we have to be flexible and able to respond to changing circumstances to take full advantage of all the opportunities to bring prosperity to the town.
“Against a very tough financial backdrop we still remain committed to spending £250,000 to develop a skatepark in Northampton. The delay to the project will only be about two months
“I hope anyone who feels let down will be patient and understand it is on the way.”
But the leader of the Northampton Skatepark Action Group, Kevin Charles, said he was disappointed by the delay, which should now see the park open in September.
He said: “We wanted this to be open by the summer holidays for obvious reasons, but it’s now been pushed back.
“We can’t understand how in December they were all for the original site, but now they have decided to change it; just two weeks before the planning hearing. We are very frustrated.”
He also questioned whether the new location of the park would allow for its expansion in the future, but the council has assured skaters that would be possible.
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Comments
There are 18 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
benron1
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 07:42 PMWe need to move with the times, skateboarding is an extreme sport. I have lived in the town for many years and never seen or been to the dragon boat festival, maybe many dinosaurs like it along wit the circus but let's not look beyond the fact that with the government pushing us to get active, a front row seat with popcorn at the circus is just not cutting it now is it? I have attended council meetings and heard all the political views but funny enough never heard from the rotary club... There is no need for stereotypic views on how bad skatepark users are, my son has special needs and if anyone classed him as a thug then they couldnt be further from the truth. As diversity grows we all have different interests and whatever the critics say, skateboarding and bmx and in line are sports and need a designated facility. Let's stop stereotyping andlive and let live, we need this facility and anyone wit funding leads please e mail me at northamptonskatepark@hotmail.co.uk
Slashgrind
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 11:09 PMHow can a council of alleged proffesional people, put a planning application in for a skatepark, after years of consultation then pull it 2 weeks before the planning application is heard because they have just remembered there is planning for Nunns Mill Development .... something that had way superceded the council confirmation that midsummers meadow was the perfect location ?
Chris Lambert
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 09:06 PMlady muck, You are right the Rotary Clubs are very much in favour of the Skate Park. I'm a member of one of the clubs in the Town and we all think it's a great idea and want to see this happen.
lady muck
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 11:56 PMI'm a bit lost on the Rotary Club connection...I thought they were in favour. It seems like a lot of fuss about nothing much...it's just a delay of two months (so far). Compare that to the delays and extra costs in Grosvenor centre, Train Station, Bus Station....I could go on.
Rich1988
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 09:24 PMkingsthorpelass well said, Corby indoor park has been funded alot by the lottery and they have lots off youth clubs etc and it is well recognized now, With this skatepark being free to use the funding would be hard to find but as the skatepark will be used everyday by alot of people it will be recognized more and more and i for one would love to involved in looking for more funding through sources where ever necessary, I do miss radlands :( and that skatepark is known worldwide and so should this one be!
kingsthorpelass
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 09:17 PMnot all skaters are hoodies, i know a fair few and they are all hardworking individuals who have been desperate to get somewhere to skate since radlands closed down. Most use this as another way to let off steam that doesnt cause any trouble. What would you rather the people who want this do, go and hang out in an allocated area or have them doing it on streets, roads and parks potentially causing harm to others. I for one would rather they do it somewhere safe. build a youth club there to and have things going on on an evening for the 16 - 21 year olds and this may just stop some of the issues over so called chavs and hoodies causing trouble because they are bored and have no where to go to hang out with their friends.
Rich1988
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 09:13 PMi am astounding but where does the Muppet come from?? for giving the positive outcomes and the support i show from the people that want a skatepark? least were not fighting for a tennis court that only ever gets used when Wimbledon is on..
willi eckaslyke
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 07:54 PMRich1988....with the information you have provided about yourself, I would not be enclined think of you as a hoodie...more as an astounding muppet.
Rich1988
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 05:13 PMWilli. You realy need to open your eyes abit more and stop sterotyping people. im 23 and im a fully qualified electrician, and im a rollerblader and have been for 7 years are you calling me a "hoodie", in my opinion if i didnt use my local skate park i would of probably ended up being a complete bum causing trouble because there was nothing else to do, I would rarther see my tax money being spent on the skatepark then some of the cash they waste on stupid things, extreme sports keeps people active , focused, and keeps bettering them selfs which will also go towards there future in life. I would love to take you to the many skate comps go to show you what these guys are doing, OH and jackson, at my local skate park in rushden we all go around picking up the litter and sweeping the ramps everytime we use it just to show our appreciation and keep the place tidy. its better then kicking a pigs bladder around a pitch and spitting and swearing and fighting , think they call that football...
benron1
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 04:42 PM@willi of course its an extreme sport, or is Tony Hawk a hooded villain!! get a grip, many skaters (well that i know) come from very nice families in nice areas, the fact you stereotype them based on your local yobbos is wrong, i would rather take my kids to a skatepark where the teensyouth are more pleasant than many you see at regular parks, i have been to many skate competitions around the country and can tell you from experience there is far less trouble than at youth football for instance! i have never seeen any outbreaks of fighting or violence, the participants merely skate, improve their tricks, make videos etc etc, its the ones who hang about not skating and dont want a future that you and all the other doubters should worry about! maybe its about time this town quit gining them a hard time just because they do extreme sports and come to the guildhall tonight to meet some of these kids, see for yourself if they are yobs or not.......and then apologise for mis understanding them, dont get me wrong i am sure there are idiots on skateboardsbmx's but they dont represent the true skate bmx community and im talking from practical expertise not hearsay and jolly old boys opinion!
willi eckaslyke
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 03:45 PMbenron1...surely, as soon as kids get balls, they also get hoodies...(am I more senile than I thought, or are you suggesting that skateboarding is an extreme sport ?)
benron1
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 02:29 PM'judicial review' i hear you cry!!!
benron1
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 02:26 PMJohnson, clearly you have no idea about skaeboarding so you pick up the litter and leave the skating to the sporty sort. I just want to say that we need this facility and are the only town in the region that has nowhere for the kids to skatebmx but fine them for doing it in the streets. my kids are small, so no they are not hooded yobbos, just people with balls who prefer extreme sports to pansy stuff like dragon boat racing with the jolly boys of the rotary club. The rotary club... i know them... they give this town nothing apart from a pretty hedge on a rounabout in duston and shaking their collection tins when we are out shopping to raise money from us to fund their futile annual excuse for an event! hopefully the new venue for the skaepark will come with extension plans for phase 2 and will still be able to open in time for the summer..... if not then maybe the good old rotart will step in and offer some cash to hire danes camp to get the kids skating through the holidays!!
BQ
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 01:02 PMWhat's that poolhog? Tory Old Boys Network. Am I missing something here? Are you suggesting the skate park has been stopped because someone who didn't like it had a quiet word in someone's ear? When my neighbour wants to build an extension and I don't like it, I'll have to try that. NIce to know that if you know a high-ranking politician, it's amazing what you can get done, or stopped, if you want to. Allegedly.
poolhog
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 12:17 PMTypical council cover up. No mention of the Rotary clubs intervention, no mention of the council not consulting with the skatepark action group before planning pulled, no comment about councillor Hadlands statement praising the park and location on the borough council website and the BBC website in late december after the public consultaion went through its final phase. No mention of the extra £40k to the tax payer to relocate the site, when the original site passed all consultancies with the council, the police, the users, the public, local businesses. Why did the borough council place the planning application 2 weeks ago then to pull it without consultation 3 days ago .... with the nplanning meeting set for early Feb !!!!! incompetence ..... at the very least !!!!! but more realistically all smoke and mirrors and back scratching from the Tory Old Boys Network. Disgraceful.
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