"We have listened to the people": Council U-turn will see lights turned off at Northampton skatepark in an attempt to stop large groups gathering

Concerns were raised over the safety of a Northampton skatepark after more than 100 people were seen not adhering to coronavirus rules over the weekend.

Many teenagers and young adults were spotted with no apparent care for social distancing at Radlands Plaza on Bedford Road on Saturday and Sunday.

On Wednesday Northampton Borough Council, which runs the site, said it was going to put a fence around the skatepark adding: “We’re only going to come out of the other side of this lockdown if everyone does their bit, however inconvenient and frustrating that might be.”

However today (Friday) the council has made a U-turn and said it has now decided on a 'staged approach' to tackle the issue.

A council spokesman said: “We have listened to what people have said, and have also had engagement with the Skate Park Action Committee over this matter.

“People must stay safe, so we have decided on a staged approach to enforcement which we hope will deal with the ongoing issues around people failing to observe appropriate social distancing and Covid-safe rules.

“We are now turning off the floodlights in the evenings, as that appears to be when most of the problems happen. This will allow those who access the site during the day to continue doing so.

“We will be monitoring the area closely and if this measure doesn’t have the desired effect, and we don’t see a reduction in unreasonable behaviour, we will introduce increased enforcement activity and, ultimately, we might still decide to fence the site off if all else fails.

“Again, we would urge parents to discourage their children from gathering in large numbers as transmission of the disease is currently greatest in the 16 to 24-year-old age group.”

Lee White, 39, the owner of The Outpost Cafe in Beckets Park has spoken out in defence of Radlands Plaza skatepark users and believes the council were wrong to initially suggest fencing it off.

Lee said: "You are taking away young adults' and children's right to exercise. Without this skatepark they would be somewhere else, possibly somewhere unsafe.

"Having the park fenced off during lockdown is not only taking away the exercise young adults and children need, it’s also got the potential to cause mental health effects.

"Skating is not just a sport, it’s an escape for many of these people.

"I feel the kids are being used as a scapegoat. They do behave in a responsible manner, and the majority of kids do stick to the rules. I know a lot of skaters who live in the same household so it looks like a big group sometimes.

"It's also unlucky for the skaters that they can be seen from the main road, people make assumptions when driving - it can look like there is more people than there is.

Lee said a different group of people are giving the park a bad name and believes Covid marshals should be reinstated to patrol the area.

He said: "The last people to get fined here were sitting in their car eating McDonald's - they are the ones giving the park a bad name. If they are just hanging around in their cars not skating, they are giving it a bad name.

"I spoke to the police community support officers recently and they said they could not understand why it would be an area of concern."