Executive member to revisit skatepark refusal

COUNCIL chiefs have been asked to look again at their decision to refuse permission to put a skate park at Portishead Lake Grounds. North Somerset Council community and corporate policy and scrutiny panel voted six to five in favour of asking the authority's executive member Tony Lake to revisit his decision to refuse Portishead Skatepark Project (PSP) landlord's consent to place the skate park on the piece of land between the boathouse and children's play area. Mr Lake made his decision last month, but it was called before the scrutiny panel by opposition councillors. PSP already has planning permission, won at appeal, to put the skate park at the Lake Grounds. PSP members spoke at the meeting, saying the decision to refuse landlord's permission was 'unreasonable.' PSP member, Jon Gething, said:"There is no valid reason for the refusal and the Lake Grounds has seen a lot of development over the years. "The Lake Grounds lacks facilities for children over eight years old and our facility will be open to all and free. "We have assessed 16 sites overall in the last three years and only two sites met the criteria, the others were rejected. "We believe it is unlikely that another location will be found." Skatepark campaigner, Annette Hennessy, said: "We have to bring the Lake Grounds into the 21st century and give Portishead youth what other towns have." But not everyone was keen to see a skate park at the Lake Grounds. Portishead councillor Barry Walters said: "We should not be concentrating everything at the Lake Grounds. "Most of the residents believe the Lake Grounds is now full and should not allow any more space to be taken up by small, specialist groups." Portishead resident David Oyns, a teacher of 41 years and a former youth club leader, said: "The Lake Grounds is very much the jewel in the crown of Portishead and enjoyed by many visitors and local people. "A lot of its appeal is its timeless, unchanging quality in contrast with the rapid development which has overtaken the rest of Portishead. "A skatepark would occupy a large, prime, recreational area for the exclusive use of a relatively small cross section of the community. "The Lake Grounds forms an amphitheatre and the clatter of skateboards on concrete will create noise pollution." Councillor Deborah Yamanaka, who called the decision to the scrutiny panel, said: "The executive member has relied on the advice of the Portishead councillors to make his decision, the majority of which consider the Lake Grounds to be for the quiet enjoyment of residents and visitors. "If this is the case, the children's play area should never have been allowed." Portishead Town Council has already set up a working group to look at locations for a wheels park in Portishead. But the group cannot move forward with any scheme until a decision is made on the Lake Grounds site. Executive member Tony Lake, said: "This decision is not to refuse a second skate park in Portishead, it is about location. "I hope that in the fullness of time the skatepark group, the town council and North Somerset Council can work together and I am confident that eventually a site will be approved." After the meeting, Mr Gething, added: "This project is far from dead, in fact its very much alive now after an all-party scrutiny panel with councillors from all parts of the district discussed our plans at length on Friday and decided that the decision to refuse a lease was wrong. They have asked the executive member to think again and grant the lease." Jon added, "I believe councillors from outside Portishead find it very hard to understand what all the fuss is about. They look at the evidence that we have gathered over the last six years and the fact that we have planning consent for the site, they look at the support we have from the police, the town council, and the great majority of residents and to them it's a no-brainer." The group need to have a piece of land secured with planning permission before they can launch the major fund-raising campaign needed to raise the necessary funds to build and manage the skatepark. The group have also promised that should the park not be successful they will fund its removal and reinstatement. Jon Gething again,"We are very confident that this skatepark will be an outstanding success. However to overcome the objections of a few people and local councillors we are prepared to raise an extra sum of money that will be kept in reserve in event of closure. While we do not believe it will be necessary we have also agreed to install CCTV and engage with the police in a youth activity programme to address issues of anti-social behaviour. We intend the skatepark to be kept grafitti free and we will ensure that this is maintained." The Skatepark Project have asked the Executive member, Cllr Tony Lake, for a meeting when they hope to resolve all the issues involved in granting the group a lease.