Police warn youngsters as vulnerable woman raises concerns about Covid 'violations' at Northampton skatepark

A vulnerable woman has been left upset over the 'large gatherings' which are happening during lockdown at the Radlands Plaza skatepark on the Bedford Road.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said it is an 'ongoing and highly visible flouting of lockdown rules'.

She said: "I can’t get it taken seriously. The skatepark has been left open and is a focus for large gatherings of young people.

"When I arrived for an appointment nearby on Friday evening (January 15) I estimated there were about 20 youngsters huddled close together on the wall with no masks on and another 10-15 skating."

The woman said she has tried to flag this up with Northampton Borough Council (NBC) but has not received a response, and also the police, who replied saying it was 'not a major incident' and there were 'no resources to respond'.

She added: "How can these large gatherings be allowed to continue, not even hidden from view? How can NBC be allowed to leave this facility in an accessible state?

"In the meantime fines are being handed out, rightly, for much smaller scale violations. Lucy Wightman has expressed her disgust with the rule breakers while this persistent large scale violation is going on in plain sight."

Northamptonshire Police responded saying the skatepark is on their patrol list as an 'area of concern'.

A police spokeswoman said: "We are aware of this issue and the skatepark is on our patrol list as an area of concern, meaning it gets visited regularly. Obviously we can’t have people there 24/7 but have warned the people on there that we will issue them with fixed penalty notices if they continue to use the area.

"We are asking people to follow the rules and most people are but we all have out part to play in order to mitigate the spread of this virus. This also involves parents/guardians knowing where their children are and reiterating the importance of following the rules to them."

NBC has been contacted for comment.

Concerns were raised in September about the skatepark after more than 100 people were seen not adhering to coronavirus rules.