People at the town council meeting last night accused some councillors of washing their hands of the young people of Portishead by refusing permission for a skate park at the Lake Grounds. What do people think?

By thepickler at 16:18 on 11/03/10

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People at the town council meeting last night accused some councillors of washing their hands of the young people of Portishead by refusing permission for a skate park at the Lake Grounds. What do people think?

By thepickler at 16:18 on 11/03/10
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No. this is unfair. I am sure that we will get a second skate park in Portishead before too long, but agree that the Lake Ground is not the most sensible location for this. I would favour the development of some of the land next to the Windmill pub, or near the Football club on Bristol Road. 4antje.

By 4antje at 16:41 on 11/03/10
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Of those who took the time to respond to their views on a skatepark the majority felt that the Lake Grounds was the ideal postion. Supporters outnumbered the objectors by a huge proportion and the decision not to allow the skate parkn at that location was one of abuse of position by a handful of local councillors, some who have been opposed to the idea for the past ten yeras. These people should not be allowed to let their personal view go against the will of the majority of local opinion and when that council decison is flawed ion such a huge way it is no more than an abuse of power and should be investigated. Even fellow town councilors have spoken out against the distasteful manner in which this decision was made.
And yes, I have two children, live very close to the Lake Grounds and I feel the area is ideal, safe and the most logical solution to a problem that Councillor Pasley especially have been opposed to for their own personal reasons.

By gouldmark2 at 08:52 on 12/03/10
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The Lake grounds are a lovely peaceful area to go to and admire the scenery all around - it seems a great shame to introduce a skate park - which I'm sure would mean noise, mess and obstruction of views.

I do however feel that our taxes could go towards giving the youngsters somewhere to meet and have fun. You don't need a view to enjoy a skatepark, it probably ought to be locked up at night for safety of all too. So surely a better location could be found.

At Port Marine by the school but on the waterside there is now a climbing structure. We saw it being installed and were told it was moved from another area due complaints. I rarely see anyone use this structure - but it does seem to serve as a rubbish collecting area and is becoming an eyesore. Sadly.

This makes me feel there ought to be an area that is purely for teenagers/youngsters away from areas of beauty that the rest of us want to enjoy without noise and stress.

By localworries at 10:49 on 12/03/10
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If Portishead Lake Grounds is such a jewel in the towns crown, a statement I find implausible, then why do the very councillors opposed to anything productive in the area still seem content to sit on their hands as they have done for the past twenty years or more and allow it to look so shabby and delapidated. Dog walkers not clearing up their mess are more of a threat to health than any skatepark. The old boathouse is an eyesore, the trees and bushes are badly managed, the shelters around the lake look cheap and tacky and, however much I like to watch my sons play football on the weekend there, the grassed area is geting chewed up by boot studs.
There appears to be much hypocrisy whenever the Lake Grounds are mentioned, Councillor Knight sees fit to use it as an excercise area for her dogs and Councillor Pasley is happy to push forward plans for a bandstand on the exact spot where the skatepark was planned but anything that does not suit their own personal agendas they oppose even though the support is usually quite proportional.
The irony is dog mess is far unhealthier than skateboarding and bmxing and a bandstand would attract the same late night rowdies and targetted vandalism that these very councillors claim to wish to deter.
I wonder if Councillor Pasley didn't live on the edge of the Lake Grounds and Councillor Knight did not look on the area as somewhere to wlak her dogs, their views would be different?
Its time Councillors either supported the wishes of the majority or start to seriously consider whether they stood for elction just to impose their own ideas on everyone.

By gouldmark2 at 11:08 on 12/03/10
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I see little difference between one argument and the other, my Pa, his Aunts and their associates, used to foul Portishead Lake Ground and the Cliff path with keeping a pet to animal waste, one reason why I left, the Council has let the area collapse, the riot always used to wreck the place and turn it into a playground for damage, my Pa stopped them on several occasions with the help of the police, the cricket pitch is flooded, the hockey pitch buried in soccer, the soccer clubs have few fields, the national standard hockey field at Gordano seems to have declined, Weston is a gambling and pub centre all day, that is what Labour brought to England, Conservatives brought neglect, LibDems war in Yugoslavia ruining one of the best tourist destinations on earth, and somebody dug up the rose bed until certain advocates who must be very tired by now made a fuss and stopped them. Personally I would ban all of you, the Lake Grounds needs flooding to the bench level, used as a flood pond, mended at the outfall, the beach is eroding, children should have the grounds safe, the cricket club the cricket, the other sports some space, heavy grade sports should be in urban sites where the young people live, not where elderly people like to sit in peace. A short while ago muckers were chucking rocks and bins all over Portishead lake ice. There was a pitch and putt. The council has to plan, plans never suit everybody, best we keep the extremes at bay, such as the Debt incurred on the Bristol City fans by the entrepeneurs who wish to bury North Somerset in a stadium there is no adequate traffic access to. Can we charge them for car parking and an access fee ? They tried that on us I suggest £5 per hour as City has for long charged £3 hour for parking on street to us using their shopping commerce and bringing work to Bristol.

By MikeHydroSoil at 23:09 on 13/03/10
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