CABINET GIVES BACKING FOR NEW SKATE PARKS

Thanet District Council’s Cabinet gave its support last night (23 August) to investigate the upgrading of the district's skate parks to provide new facilities in all three major towns. This follows a number of requests from local skateboarders and a petition to full Council on 12 July 2012. Thanet currently has several skate parks, three of which are council owned, one based in Minster is the responsibility of the Village Parish Council and the other is privately owned by Revolution. Apart from the Hartsdown Park site, the council currently owns and maintains the skate parks at Lymington Road, Westgate and Warre Recreation Ground, Ramsgate. A council project, commissioned in partnership with Sport England in 2009/10, indicated that skate park provision in Thanet compared favourably with other districts but the quality of facilities was a concern. The project report supported the justification for smaller skate parks spread across the district or one ‘super skate park’ for the whole of Thanet. By opting for smaller sites, the Cabinet hopes that skateboarders and BMX riders can pursue their sport using state-of-the art facilities at locations across the district. The cost of the work is estimated to be £150,000 to £200,000, and work will start following a consultation process with skate park users and nearby residents. The council’s cabinet member for Community Services, Cllr. Iris Johnston, said: “The popularity of our existing skate parks and indeed Revolution is well known. However, I am very mindful of the improvements required at Hartsdown and the need for new facilities at Broadstairs and Ramsgate, closer to all users’ homes. "At this time we can probably only afford £150,000 to £200,000. If we had agreed to one large central Thanet facility, many of the young people that approached us would be disappointed not to have one in their area."